Financing and Access in Cooperatives

 

Abstract
Cooperative undertakings account for a substantial share of developed market economies
and that share is likely to grow with the advent of the new economy. The paper develops
a dynamic investment framework that relates access policies, financing and growth of cooperatives.
It shows how discriminating among users affects the viability of cooperatives
and impacts social efficiency. It then argues that in most circumstances, the cooperative
form, even when viable on a stand-alone basis, is a weak competitor against alternative
organizational forms. Last, the paper stresses that access policies involve a standard social
tradeoff between static efficiency and innovation.