Journal of Co-operative Studies Vol 52 No 1

Table of Contents

Editorial

Peer reviewed articles

Measuring Co-operative Employment According to the New Statistical Guidelines

Theo Sparreboom and Cecilia Tinonin, pp. 5-12

ABSTRACT

The recently concluded twentieth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) adopted guidelines concerning statistics of co-operatives, which is the first time that co-operatives feature so prominently in the development of international statistical standards. This paper highlights the main elements of the guidelines, including the definition and the classification of co-operatives. Work in co‑operatives is discussed in light of the new international statistical standards concerning statistics on work relationships which were also adopted by the twentieth ICLS. This is followed by the application of the new standards, drawing on examples of the types of co-operatives that the guidelines identify. In this way, the paper demonstrates the relative importance of particular work relationships, which is dependent, among other factors, on the type of co-operative and commensurate membership. The paper also addresses some of the statistical challenges regarding data collection in the context of the new statistical standards.

Keywords: standards, employment, co-operatives, labour statistics

Short papers

Developing a Co-operative Accountability Model

John Maddocks, pp. 13-19

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the discourse on co-operative accountability and interest in the potential for a distinct co-operative accounting and reporting framework. In particular, the paper develops a co-operative accountability model that draws on the non-profit model developed by Andreaus and Costa (2014) and extends this to take into consideration differences in co-operative mission and organisational structural features. By doing so, the model highlights differences between the accountabilities of social co-operatives with a wide community benefit mission compared to the more traditional member-benefit co-operative model where the organisational mission is member oriented. In addition, the model highlights the importance of non-financial resources alongside financial resources and the contribution of co-operative structural differences to non-financial resources as well as citizenship and ethical dimensions of organisational social responsibility.

Keywords: co-operative accountability; reporting framework; non-financial resources; constituency

The Origins of Co-operative Education

Gillian Lonergan, pp. 20-21

Co-operative Studies — Where are We Now?

UK Society for Co-operative Studies, pp. 22-33

ABSTRACT

The UK Society of Co-operative Studies is undertaking several interrelated projects to build and develop a new website and web-based resources. The work is related to the purpose and objects of UKSCS to provide information and resources on co-operative studies. We are working to develop information sources and resources on learning, development, and research. This article reports on the first phase of the work being undertaken which focuses on programmes and courses on co-operative studies in UK and international universities.

Keywords: co-operation; co-operative studies; learning and development

Book reviews

Reclaiming the University for the Reclaiming the University for the Public Good: Experiments and Futures in Co-operative Higher Education 

Edited by Malcolm Noble and Cilla Ross. Reviewed by Jan Myers, pp. 34-40

All works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, subject to a 6-month embargo from date of publication in the Journal.