Cooperatives, Economic Democratization and Rural Development

Economics, management, and sociology scholars from Europe, South America, Asia, Kenya, and the US provide 12 essays that illustrate how cooperatives and producer organizations focused on supporting farmers in developing countries are dealing with the changing political and economic environment, and how this transformation is affecting farmers as they facilitate market access and participation in modern value chains and enhance productivity and food security. They discuss general trends and dilemmas among cooperatives, farmer organizations, and producer organizations, including participation in the policy debate, rural development and poverty alleviation, and new farmer and producer companies; aspects related to economic democratization, inclusiveness, and social capital, including the impact of producer organizations on smallholder agriculture, the relationship between the performance of agricultural cooperatives and indicators of trust, reciprocity, and cooperativeness, the effects of governance on economic equality, and the relationship between formal producer organizations and informal forms of collective action; internal governance and member commitment; and the wider impact of producer organizations on development, growth, democracy, and income equality. Annotation c2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Edited by Jos Bijman, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Roldan Muradian, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil and Jur Schuurman, formerly Agriterra, the Netherlands