Cooperatives and Local Development

First Published in 2004. The market economy has changed profoundly over the past two centuries. In the nineteenth century, business enterprises were largely single-product ventures, managed directly by the owners and rooted within national economies. In the twentieth century, firms employed managers who were not owners. Firms also evolved into multiproduct, multiunit entities that could employ thousands of workers. In the twenty-first century, many firms operate on a global scale, taking advantage of free trade policies and rapidly evolving computer and telecommunications technologies. Given this potential, it is crucial that producers, consumers, economic developers, and researchers realize how co-ops can promote local economic and community development. Hence, this book includes the perceptions of experts on a variety of cooperative issues, including the challenges involved in starting a co-op and in understanding its impact on surrounding communities. This book can be especially useful because it provides the theoretical foundations and practical applications of cooperative behavior.

Christopher D. Merrett is an associate professor of geography at the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and the Department of Geography at Western Illinois University. He researches local responses to globalization, with a specific focus on co-ops and cooperative development. He has written two books, many journal articles, and numerous reports examining the effectiveness of New Generation Cooperatives as a tool for local community development. Most recently, he has written on social justice issues. Norman Walzer is a professor of economics and founding director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. He has published extensively on rural community and economic development, local public finance, and Brownfields issues. His most recent work has been on New Generation Cooperatives as an economic development policy. He serves on many boards and commissions and works with local and state agencies on a variety of rural development issues. Norman Walzer is a professor of Economics and founding director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University.