Labor Managed Firms Research Papers (original) (raw)
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El presente artículo busca ofrecer una visión panorámica de la literatura teórica que aborda un problema de investigación relativamente novedoso, al menos en el medio académico local. ¿Por qué las cooperativas de trabajadores representan... more
El presente artículo busca ofrecer una visión panorámica de la literatura teórica que aborda un problema de investigación relativamente novedoso, al menos en el medio académico local. ¿Por qué las cooperativas de trabajadores representan una proporción marginal del universo de empresas y del empleo total en cualquier economía de mercado contemporánea? En este sentido, se identifican cuatro grandes grupos de explicaciones: i) las que enfatizan los problemas de inversión y acumulación de las empresas de trabajadores, ii) las que enfatizan los problemas de monitoreo del esfuerzo y de incentivos al trabajo, iii) las que enfatizan los costos de las decisiones colectivas y iv) las que plantean la importancia del entorno institucional y de su evolución, así como la relación entre el grado de desigualdad patrimonial y los procesos de selección organizacional. El artículo sugiere una amplia agenda de exploración para los investigadores interesados en el fenómeno de las empresas autogestionadas y en el análisis comparado de organizaciones y sistemas económicos. Asimismo, deja planteadas importantes implicancias para el diseño de políticas públicas e instituciones de soporte destinadas a promover la formación y el adecuado funcionamiento de este tipo de organizaciones.
The degeneration hypothesis of worker-managed firms (WMFs) asserts that the pursuit of higher earnings would induce successful WMFs to gradually disintegrate their labor-managed economies and become more similar to a conventional firm.... more
The degeneration hypothesis of worker-managed firms (WMFs) asserts that the pursuit of higher earnings would induce successful WMFs to gradually disintegrate their labor-managed economies and become more similar to a conventional firm. Although this issue has been widely discussed, it has rarely been tested empirically. This research presents new econometric evidence on the behavior of WMFs, highlighting the differences within the firm between members and nonmembers. I use a comprehensive linked employee-employer panel data set of workers registered in Uruguay's social security records from 1996 to 2013. The resulting evidence shows that WMFs hire an increasing share of employees. However, the share of employees that the PC chose to hire does not seem to have been effected by variations in the level of success of PCs, suggesting that Uruguayan WMFs do not exhibit this type of degeneration process.
The theoretical discussion concerning the comparison of employment and wage decisions between capitalist firms and worker cooperatives began with the seminal work of Ward (1958). The model assumes that worker cooperatives maximizes the... more
The theoretical discussion concerning the comparison of employment and wage decisions between capitalist firms and worker cooperatives began with the seminal work of Ward (1958). The model assumes that worker cooperatives maximizes the net income per member instead of total profits. Even though it has been largely criticized, the Ward model has dominated the theoretical literature on worker coops. For instance, some authors have argued that worker coops are not only concerned about income per worker but also employment levels. However, the empirical content of these competing theoretical models has been rarely analyzed. In this article, following the methodology proposed by Craig and Pencavel (1993), we estimate the parameters of a generic objective function. These parameters determine the relative importance that worker coops place on income per worker vis-a-vis the level of employment. The study is based a long micro-panel of Uruguayan firms containing the entire population of wor...
The following article presents new econometric evidence on comparative behavior between worker cooperatives and capitalist firms, identifying differences in wage and employment responses. We exploit a comprehensive panel data set that... more
The following article presents new econometric evidence on comparative behavior between worker cooperatives and capitalist firms, identifying differences in wage and employment responses. We exploit a comprehensive panel data set that covers the universe of cooperatives and their capitalist counterparts registered in social security records in Uruguay from April 1996 to December 2005. The analysis of employment and wage evolution in both types of enterprises suggests that there may be different mechanisms of adjustment to idiosyncratic price changes and macroeconomic shocks. The data set also allows us to estimate wages and employment variations for cooperative’s members and employees separately. The results of the comparison are analyzed in the light of theoretical explanations and institutional characteristics of the cooperatives’ development in Uruguay. Our findings are broadly consistent with previous studies for Italian and plywood northwest U.S. cooperatives. The importance of...
- by Andrés Dean and +1
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- Geography, Work and Labour, Uruguay, Investment
La conception socialiste des retraites s’est cristallisée dans les années 1880- 1914 tandis que les socialistes s’opposaient sur la propriété au sein des coopératives. Jaurès a défendu des positions originales sur la propriété collective... more
La conception socialiste des retraites s’est cristallisée dans les années 1880- 1914 tandis que les socialistes s’opposaient sur la propriété au sein des coopératives. Jaurès a défendu des positions originales sur la propriété collective et la solidarité dans l’évolution économique. L’expérience d’Agun Aro du complexe coopératif de Mondragon permet de prolonger ces débats.
This paper provides new evidence on the objectives pursued by worker-managed firms (WMFs). The basic neoclassical model assumes that WMFs maximizes net income per member instead of total profits (Ward, 1958). Even though it has been... more
This paper provides new evidence on the objectives pursued by worker-managed firms (WMFs). The basic neoclassical model assumes that WMFs maximizes net income per member instead of total profits (Ward, 1958). Even though it has been largely criticized, the Ward model has dominated the self-management literature. Alternative models suggest that WMFs are not only concerned about income per worker but also about the level of employment. However, the empirical content of these competing theoretical models has been rarely analyzed. This paper contributes to fill this gap by estimating the parameters of a generic welfare function, following the methodology proposed by Craig and Pencavel (1993). These parameters determine the relative importance that a WMF places on income per worker vis-a-vis the level of employment. Estimates are based on a long micro-panel of Uruguayan firms covering the entire population of Uruguayan worker-managed firm and conventional firms in 31 3-digit sectors over the period April 1996-December 2005. Following a strictly neoclassical framework, but simply allowing a more general specification of the WMF goals, we show that the assumption of the basic neoclassical model of the WMF is misleading. Our results support the view that WMFs are concerned with both employment and income per worker.