Search

PR, IFPRI3; ISI; C Improving markets and trade, MTID

This dissertation contributes to the local development discourse by presenting a third sector perspective from the Sub Saharan Africa. The study examines the third sector in Kenya using a seven point criteria constructed from various schools of thought. The criteria is made of aspects such as organization, autonomy, profit distribution, governance, degree of voluntarism, contribution to social inclusion and extent of entrepreneurial dynamism. It studies selected third sector organizations that include cooperatives, faith based organizations, non-governmental organizations, micro-finance institutions and self-help groups. The study uses these organizations to understand the contribution of the sector in solving social problems. The study uses different sets of designs, methodologies and data for each of the sections on the third sector actors. In some cases, data are drawn from Kenya Bureau of Statistics, government ministries, UN bodies, the Central Bank of Kenya, and both Kenyan and international public data domains. The section on self-help groups that has been used for empirical analysis uses two sets of data: one from the administrative offices of Riruta Location made of 523 observations and another collected by the researcher from a sample of 122 self-help groups. The former tests success self-rating determinants while the latter tests economic empowerment effects. The study also applies case studies in order to corroborate empirical and statistical findings. A number of findings emanate from the study. First, the traditional cultural way of life and the cooperative activities amongst different ethnic communities provided important initial conditions for the build-up of the third sector in Kenya. Second, the colonial administration played a role in the formation of the modern third sector through their policy on community development and other policies that encouraged cooperation between government and third sector actors in service delivery. Third, in post-ind

Financial constraints and limited access to markets are the most important obstacles for economic development in developing economies that are largely dependent on agriculture. Lack of access to credit and output markets, in particular, is frequently identified as a key barrier to transformation of subsistence agriculture. The fundamental problems are related to information asymmetry, lack of collateral and limited economies of scale. Innovative institutional mechanisms, in the form of microfinance and producer organizations, offer ways to address information asymmetry and increase scale economies. This dissertation examines the outreach, financial performance and impact of microfinance institutions as well as the key drivers of agricultural cooperatives and its impact on smallholder farmers efficiency in Ethiopia. To meet these objectives four data sets from Ethiopia, one institutional and three household survey data, are used. The analysis of microfinance generally focuses on examining the trade-offs between outreach to the poor and financial sustainability by ownership forms (shareholder owned vs. memberowned). The outreach-financial sustainability trade-offs analyzed first using the institutional survey data. The empirical results show that serving the poor and financial sustainability are challenging objectives to achieve together. There is also evidence that suggests the presence of mission drift. Second, the role of ownership form on outreach, financial performance and cost-efficiency is analyzed within the framework of efficient ownership assignment theories using regression and stochastic cost frontier approaches. This analysis aims at testing whether the commonly held proposition of greater efficiency of shareholder firms in microfinance by policy advocates is empirically supported. The results reject the superiority of shareholder-owned microfinance over financial cooperatives. In fact, the evidence here supports the advantages of member-owned microfinanc

Most exogenous developmental models have not provided satisfactory results in indigenous settings. The resulting development policies have contributed to the expropriation of indigenous territories and to the indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources, that have led to a generalized worsening of indigenous peoples’ living conditions. The expression “development aggression” has been coined to describe the violation of indigenous individual and collective rights during development processes that have been imposed top-down rather than shared and implemented with the communities involved. Against this background, several studies have pinpointed the role of indigenous entrepreneurship in sustaining endogenous development processes. Due to the low number of empirical studies supporting this proposition, this research aims at contributing to the debate, claiming that community enterprises are an effective vehicle for an indigenous self- determined process of development. More specifically, these grassroots entrepreneurial initiatives appear able to sustain an indigenous conception of well-being that has recently entered the Latin American debate on development. This conception, named buen vivir, emphasizes the importance of indigenous culture, the natural environment, and collective well-being. Based on a multidisciplinary approach that draws on entrepreneur- ship, economic sociology, anthropology, and development studies, the re- search combines theoretical and empirical approaches. An ethnographic study has been carried out in the first half of 2012 and has investigated sixteen self-managed community enterprises that have been founded by indigenous Mayan communities in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The fieldwork has been based on in-depth semi-structured interviews, as well as direct observation and analysis of secondary sources. The focus is on identifying the enabling factors that have supported the emergence of these enterprises and the impact they have had on i

Small Italian banks have experienced a substantial growth since the mid-1990s and have not disappeared in the wave of the liberalization process that started in 1992. Two main reasons have emerged to explain their growth: (i) the consolidation process of larger banks that disregards smaller customers and (ii) their lending strategy based on localism, proximity, small dimensions, and peer monitoring. Small banks could exploit their ability in collecting soft information and they often use them along with hard information to reduce the asymmetries of information and moral hazard issues in transactions. Among the small banks, cooperative banks have an additional advantage due their member-based ownership structure. They use this to increase the quantity and quality of the soft information compared to other small banks. Italian Credit Cooperative Banks (Banche di Credito Cooperativo, hereafter CCBs) have performed particularly well in expanding their business and in increasing both members and branches, largely due to the weakening of their legal constraints in 1992. However, this growth has not been homogenous and there are differences in growth patterns at the dimensional and the geographical levels. This dissertation focuses on three research questions concerning CCBs: 1. The role of size in the recent growth of CCBs: the literature on bank’s growth has shown mixed results on the relationship between growth and size. In particular, two main features have been studied: (i) the role of size in the growth of loans, assets and members by testing the Law of Proportionate Effect (LPE); (ii) the role played by other covariates in the growth of loans, assets and members by testing a multivariate regression model. Applying these models to CCBs, the results show that LPE is rejected in favour of a negative relation between size and growth—i.e., smaller CCBs have grown faster. Their faster growth is related to the financial variables— the cost-income level and average ear

Il volume è il primo manuale completo di organizzazione per le imprese sociali in Italia. Frutto della collaborazione tra i più conosciuti specialisti e studiosi della materia, il testo affronta in modo sistematico temi fondamentali quali: la "governance", la gestione delle risorse umane, la qualità, il management, la leadership, le strategie di sviluppo e acquisizione di risorse, la valutazione, il bilancio sociale. Il volume è organizzato per voci e corredato di un'ampia serie di studi di caso che lo rendono particolarmente adatto, oltre che per la didattica universitaria, anche come strumento per il supporto dei processi di sviluppo organizzativo.

Descrive the recent evolution of contracting-out in social services

The objective of this chapter is to identify institutional solutions to the interrelated issues of social degradation and inequality. We build on the idea that the richness and poverty of social relations, and the outcomes that originate from this are in part caused by the unequal distribution of income and wealth, but also by the type of socio-economic institutions that a society gives itself and the behavioural attitudes associated with them. We discuss how, by reinstating cooperation and inclusion strategies within economic institutions, it becomes possible to deal with and balance at the same time individual behaviours and distributional issues. The paper builds on Ostrom's theory of commons and offers a framework that links institutional choices and reduction of social poverty.

The study of private non-profit enterprises that offer general interest services is only at the start. The understanding of existing organisations resists an inclusive, public interest view of governance. This contribution aims at providing a reflection on specific features that non-profit enterprises should have, and outlines four main justifications for including stakeholders in production governance: 1) access to knowledge and other resources, 2) trust creation, 3) internal efficiency, 4) external efficiency. Conclusions elaborate on Hansmann’s classic theory of the firm to suggest that governance solutions need to be assessed on the basis of total costs, considering also the lower level of social costs that is created when governance includes relevant stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multi-stakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives.

The study of multi-stakeholdership (and multi-stakeholder social enterprises in particular) is only at the start. Entrepreneurial choices which have emerged spontaneously, as well as the first legal frameworks approved in this direction, lack an adequate theoretical support. The debate itself is underdeveloped, as the existing understanding of organisations and their aims resist an inclusive, public interest view of enterprise. Our contribution aims at enriching the thin theoretical reflections on multi-stakeholdership, in a context where they are already established, i.e. that of social and personal services. The aim is to provide an economic justification on why the governance structure and decision-making praxis of the firm needs to account for multiple stakeholders. In particular with our analysis we want: a) to consider production and the role of firms in the context of the “public interest” which may or may not coincide with the non-profit objective; b) to ground the explanation of firm governance and processes upon the nature of production and the interconnections between demand and supply side; c) to explain that the costs associated with multi-stakeholder governance and deliberation in decision-making can increase internal efficiency and be “productive” since they lower internal costs and utilise resources that otherwise would go astray. The key insight of this work is that, differently from major interpretations, property costs should be compared with a more comprehensive range of costs, such as the social costs that emerge when the supply of social and personal services is insufficient or when the identification of aims and means is not shared amongst stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs derived from exclusion are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multistakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives.

Henry Hansmann has argued that ownership is best allocated to the group of patrons for which the total of cost of governance and contracting for all the firm’s patrons combined is minimized. This paper re-founds Hansmann’s model by considering an additional set of costs, the costs of excluding certain groups of patrons from the firm’s decision-making or governance process. The objective, which is Coasean in both spirit and formulation, is to show (1) that firms with “multi-stakeholder governance” emerge to economize on exclusion costs, and (2) that the efficient governance structure minimizes the total cost of membership, contracting and exclusion costs for all the firm’s patrons combined. The paper argues that this setup helps explain so-called “public organisation,” defined as organisations with public interest objectives, and further claims that this model helps explaining the recent emergence of multi-stakeholder enterprises within the third sector.

The study of private non-profit enterprises that offer general interest services is only at the start. The understanding of existing organisations resists an inclusive, public interest view of governance. This contribution aims at providing a reflection on specific features that non-profit enterprises should have, and outlines four main justifications for including stakeholders in production governance: 1) access to knowledge and other resources, 2) trust creation, 3) internal efficiency, 4) external efficiency. Conclusions elaborate on Hansmann’s classic theory of the firm to suggest that governance solutions need to be assessed on the basis of total costs, considering also the lower level of social costs that is created when governance includes relevant stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multi-stakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives.

The study of multi-stakeholdership (and multi-stakeholder social enterprises in particular) is only at the start. Entrepreneurial choices which have emerged spontaneously, as well as the first legal frameworks approved in this direction, lack an adequate theoretical support. The debate itself is underdeveloped, as the existing understanding of organisations and their aims resist an inclusive, public interest view of enterprise. Our contribution aims at enriching the thin theoretical reflections on multi-stakeholdership, in a context where they are already established, i.e. that of social and personal services. The aim is to provide an economic justification on why the governance structure and decision-making praxis of the firm needs to account for multiple stakeholders. In particular with our analysis we want: a) to consider production and the role of firms in the context of the “public interest” which may or may not coincide with the non-profit objective; b) to ground the explanation of firm governance and processes upon the nature of production and the interconnections between demand and supply side; c) to explain that the costs associated with multi-stakeholder governance and deliberation in decision-making can increase internal efficiency and be “productive” since they lower internal costs and utilise resources that otherwise would go astray. The key insight of this work is that, differently from major interpretations, property costs should be compared with a more comprehensive range of costs, such as the social costs that emerge when the supply of social and personal services is insufficient or when the identification of aims and means is not shared amongst stakeholders. Our model highlights that when social costs derived from exclusion are high, even an enterprise with costly decisional processes, such as the multistakeholder, can be the most efficient solution amongst other possible alternatives.

Henry Hansmann has argued that ownership is best allocated to the group of patrons for which the total of cost of governance and contracting for all the firm’s patrons combined is minimized. This paper re-founds Hansmann’s model by considering an additional set of costs, the costs of excluding certain groups of patrons from the firm’s decision-making or governance process. The objective, which is Coasean in both spirit and formulation, is to show (1) that firms with “multi-stakeholder governance” emerge to economize on exclusion costs, and (2) that the efficient governance structure minimizes the total cost of membership, contracting and exclusion costs for all the firm’s patrons combined. The paper argues that this setup helps explain so-called “public organisation,” defined as organisations with public interest objectives, and further claims that this model helps explaining the recent emergence of multi-stakeholder enterprises within the third sector.

The objective of this chapter is to identify institutional solutions to the interrelated issues of social degradation and inequality. We build on the idea that the richness and poverty of social relations, and the outcomes that originate from this are in part caused by the unequal distribution of income and wealth, but also by the type of socio-economic institutions that a society gives itself and the behavioural attitudes associated with them. We discuss how, by reinstating cooperation and inclusion strategies within economic institutions, it becomes possible to deal with and balance at the same time individual behaviours and distributional issues. The paper builds on Ostrom's theory of commons and offers a framework that links institutional choices and reduction of social poverty.

Non disponibile

Non disponibile

Non disponibile

not available

The paper is mainly divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to understanding the Italian third sector, with particular reference to the principal organisational and legal forms that define it and to some quantitative relevant data. The second part is largely focussed on social co-operatives, which are herewith regarded as the best paradigm to comprehend the evolution of the Italian nonprofit sector towards a more productive role with respect to the traditionally advocacy one. Finally, the third part underlines the relations existing between social enterprises and employment policies so as to grasp the potential for new developments in this field.

Il paper sintetizza alcuni lavori di ricerca e alcuni interventi a convegni realizzati negli ultimi anni da parte degli autori. In particolare, il paper riprende i risultati di una ricerca sulla formazione superiore in campo non profit, realizata in Italia, Francia, Belgio e Paesi Scandinavi nell'ambito di un progetto finanziato dalla Commissione Europea attraverso il "Programma Leonardo 1998".

Non disponibile

Exploiting a unique data set created in 1998 on a sample of 228 public, nonprofit and for-profit organizations working in the social service sector, and on 2066 workers, the paper seeks to demonstrate that workers’ satisfaction and loyalty to the organization is influenced by the incentive mixes offered by different organizational forms. Nonprofit organizations are found to give more weight to intrinsic and relational aspects of the work than to monetary aspects. They tend to pay lower wages and to produce a mix of incentives based on non-monetary rewards compared to public bodies and for-profit enterprises. The role of distributive and procedural fairness will be investigated as well. Fairness emerges as a crucial factor which influences both satisfaction and loyalty. Besides this general result, procedural justice is found to be the most important determinant of workers’ general satisfaction with their jobs.

Il paper sintetizza alcuni lavori di ricerca e alcuni interventi a convegni realizzati negli ultimi anni da parte degli autori. In particolare, il paper riprende i risultati di una ricerca sulla formazione superiore in campo non profit, realizata in Italia, Francia, Belgio e Paesi Scandinavi nell'ambito di un progetto finanziato dalla Commissione Europea attraverso il "Programma Leonardo 1998".