This paper uses hazard function estimations together with cross-sectional growth regressions to examine the impact of exit through merger and acquisition (M&A) or failure, and internally-generated growth, on the firm-size distribution of US credit unions. Consolidation through M&A was the principal cause of a reduction in the number of credit unions, but impact on concentration was small. A pos...

We provide the first analyses of infant mortality rates by indigenous ethnic group in Finland, a country that has one of the lowest relative numbers of infant deaths in the world. Using files from the Finnish population register, we identified both of the parents of children born in the period from 1975-2003 according to ethnic affiliation, socioeconomic profile, and demographic position. The i...

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the relationship existing between local financial development and the growth of firms, with a special focus on cooperatives. More in detail, the interest is in investigating whether local banking development impacts differently on the growth of cooperative firms, as compared to partnerships and corporations. To pursue this aim, using Italian da...

This paper concerns the paradoxes and dilemmas that the very successful "Chinese model" presents for transition theory. The "Chinese model" is centered on the development of township-village enterprises. The main purpose of this paper is to make the case that TVE's are not just some form of disguised capitalist institution; they are much better described as "vaguely defined cooperatives" meanin...

BACKGROUND After a contact with a primary care physician (PCP) cooperative for out-of-hours care, many patients have subsequent contact with health care. Little is known about the factors associated with these follow-up contacts. The objective of this study was to examine whether patient experiences with nurse telephone consultations and the cooperative's organizational characteristics were ass...

This paper discusses the features of the labor market outcome in the presence of homogeneous labor and multiple unions. It is argued that contract curve agreements, or at least efficient bargaining among unions, may be improved upon by a solution with differential or non-uniform wage payments for workers affiliated to different unions. The equilibrium solution in terms of employment and/or wage...

Although informal waste collectors are sometimes organized in cooperatives, their working conditions remain extremely precarious and unsafe. The paper discusses the findings of action oriented, participatory qualitative research with several recycling groups in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil. During workshops with the recyclers mapping, acting, and drawing methods helped reveal he...