World Cooperative Monitor:Exploring the Co-operative Economy- Report 2013

Abstract

The real economic dimensions of co-operatives worldwide are still fragmentary in nature. This constitutes a gap that leads to a slackening of the acknowledgment process that would be strengthened if upheld by a more nuanced view of co-operatives’ actual contributions to the socio-economic welfare of different countries. In the absence of data, a realistic estimate of the economic impact of co-operatives is required to demonstrate that co-operatives are neither small nor marginal organisations, showing that a valid model exists that is different from the for-profit model dominant in today’s world. This report is intended to be exploratory, and does not attempt to be all-inclusive; rather, it is an overview of a significant part of the worldwide co-operative movement.