A Global History of Co-operative Business

Co-operatives provide a different approach to organizing business through their ideals of member ownership and democratic practice. Every co-operative member has an equal vote regardless of his or her own personal capital investment. The contemporary significance of co-operatives was highlighted by the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives.

This book provides an international perspective on the development of co-operatives since the mid-nineteenth century exploring the economic, political and social factors that explain their varying fortunes and transformation into different forms. By looking at what co-operatives are; how they have changed; the developments as well as the persecutions of the co-operative movement; and how it is an important force in promoting development and self-sufficiency in non-industrialised areas, this book provides valuable insight not only to academics, but also to practitioners and policy makers.

Nikola Balnave is a Senior Lecturer in Public Sector and Not-For-Profit Employment and Management at Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. She is a member of the Global Co-operatives Project Steering Committee and also sits on the Education and Research Steering Committee of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (Australia). Nikola is the President of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH), and is Deputy Editor of the ASSLH’s journal, Labour History.

Greg Patmore is Professor of Business and Labor History and the Director of the Co-operatives Research Group at the University of Sydney, Sydney Australia. He is a member of the International Co-operative Alliance (Geneva) Global 300 Project and the Research and Education Steering Group, Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (Australia).