No abstract

The purpose of this study is to establish linkages between sustainable development goals, social responsibility, institutions and cooperatives by developing a comparison, both theoretically and empirically, between cooperatives and non-cooperatives. In order to develop the theoretical underpinnings, post-Williamsonian transaction cost economics (TCE) has been selected as the theoretical framework. For the empirical analysis, a primary survey has been conducted in two prominent handloom hubs of West Bengal spanning over two districts of the state. A binomial logistic regression has been performed in order to analyse the data collected from the weavers of two different institutions—a master weaver institution and a cooperative institution. Following the post-Williamsonian TCE framework, it has been theoretically shown that the cooperative institution is more efficient in implementing the government’s welfare schemes. The result of the empirical analysis shows that education and distance from the cooperative institution are significant variables that help in the effective implementation of the government’s welfare schemes.

This paper attempts to theorize producers' cooperatives as an organizational form in the context of developing countries, by using Williamson's approach of comparative economic organizations. The idea of composite efficiency has been introduced here, by bringing in the notion of distributional efficiency. Detailed theorization of different types of organizations following the market-hierarchy continuum has been attempted. Institutional factors behind longevity, stability of cooperatives and logic behind coexistence of cooperatives along with hierarchical capitalist firms, by focusing on the Indian handloom weaving sector, have been theoretically established.

Despite sustained high growth in India over the past three decades or so, barring the recent turn of events, structural transformation has been characterized by deepening agrarian crisis, high unemployment, and a lack of remunerative and good quality jobs. These are the major contributors to the problem of burgeoning inequality in India. In this article, using various macro-level data sets, secondary case study reports, and one primary survey, it is argued that the neoliberal model of development cannot solve the ongoing rural crisis in India. This, in turn, calls for looking beyond this paradigm. Considering that agrarian (or broadly speaking, rural) distress has its own class dynamics, which lead to disproportionate suffering among the class of marginal farmers/tenants, agricultural workers, and others, it is argued that cooperativism presents itself as an alternative model for remedying India’s ongoing rural crisis. In this context, strong management and external support are key factors to ensure the success of cooperatives.