piero ammirato

The Italian cooperative sector increased its workforce from 935,000 to 1.3 million from 2001 to 2011. During this period they also created 29% of all new jobs in Italy.
The presentation will examine how the Italian Co-operative sector managed to grow during and after the Global Financial Crisis. It will consider: the legislative environment; the role of cooperative associations; capital raising by cooperatives and the sector’s financial structures, including the successful cooperative development funds; the role performed by large cooperatives; industrial relations and entrepreneurship. 
It will explore the unique features of cooperative enterprises, the Italian cooperative model and consider lessons that could be learnt from the Italian experience. It will compare the performance of the Italian cooperative sector with that of the private sector and highlight key behavioural differences. The key role performed by cooperative groups will be critically analysed.
The presentation will highlight that cooperatives have performed an anti-crisis function but there are also limits to what they can do.

Cooperative Enterprises is the first textbook to examine the evolution of the cooperative enterprise model and the contribution that cooperatives can make to the economy and society. It provides an accessible overview of the subject, looking at history, cooperative models, theories, legislation, and governance. Cooperative Enterprises takes an international approach throughout, drawing on examples from cooperatives from across the globe. The book offers a valuable historical perspective, placing cooperatives within their political, social, cultural, and economic contexts since the Industrial Revolution. It analyses and compares the cooperative law of 26 jurisdictions and showcases key defining moments for cooperative enterprises, cooperative development models, cooperative-specific good practice standards, and compares the cooperative model with the private enterprise model, giving readers a comprehensive view of the subject. The book also demonstrates that cooperatives correct the market, complement the role of the state, support local economic development, reduce income and wealth inequalities, promote social cohesion, and promote economic democracy. Students are supported with a range of pedagogical features, including case studies, tables, figures, chapter summaries, and discussion questions to encourage critical thinking. This is the ideal textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on cooperative studies, and will also be an illuminating resource for students, researchers, and policymakers interested in social enterprise, business history, economic history, corporate governance, economic democracy, and community development.

This presentation summarises the the key features of the Italian Cooperative banking sector.  It provides information on membership, legal requirements, capital raising, lending practices, profit sharing, tax concessions, governance,  cooperative banking network, local communities, cooperative development fund.

The failed alternative? cooperative development - problems and solutions La Lega, an historical account - 1850-1992 La Lega - the central network the consortia network La Lega's financial institutions managing change - cooperatives and the market the state and the cooperative sector LaLega - a solution to cooperative problems.

The Italian Cooperative Sector is amongst the largest in the world comprising over 60,000 cooperatives from all sectors of the economy directly employing 1.3 million people. Cooperatives created close to 30 percent of new jobs in Italy between 2001 and 2011 demonstrating that democratic cooperative enterprises can successfully operate in a market economy combining economic success and social responsibility. These offer a viable alternative to profit maximising enterprises and an opportunity to create a more pluralist and democratic market economy. The Growth of Italian Cooperatives: Innovation, Resilience and Social Responsibility comprehensively explains how the Italian cooperative sector has managed to compete successfully in the global economy and to grow during the global financial crisis. This book will comprehensively explain how the Italian cooperative movement has managed to grow into a large successful network of cooperatives. It will examine the legislative framework and their unique business model that allows it to compete in the market as part of a network that includes central cooperative associations, financial and economic consortia, and financial companies. It will explore cooperative entrepreneurship through a discussion of the formation of cooperative groups, start-ups, worker-buyouts and the promotion of entirely new sectors such as the social services sector. Finally, The Growth of Italian Cooperatives examines how cooperatives have managed the GFC and how their behavior differs from private enterprises. It will also analyze the extent to which cooperatives compete while still uphold the key cooperative principles and fulfil their social responsibility. This book is an interdisciplinary study of cooperative development and is designed to inform members of the academic community, government, public policy makers and cooperative managers that are primarily interested in economic democracy, economics of the cooperative enterprise, cooperative networks and economic development, cooperative legislation, democratic governance, job creation programs, politics of inclusion and how wealth can be more equitably distributed.

at the workplace? Arguably, the organizations involved in the restructuring process set their horizons at the level where such changes have a direct impact. Employers are concerned with establishing a competitive edge over other firms. Unions are also less concerned with the wider implications of their decisions made at a single workplace. The survival and profitability of the firm becomes a concern that is almost as important to unions as it is for management. In short, when bargaining at the level of the enterprise, unions are forced to take