La Cooperazione in Italia: Un’Overview (Cooperation in Italy: An Overview)

35 Pages Posted: 10 Mar 2012

See all articles by Michele Andreaus

Michele Andreaus

University of Trento - Department of Computer and Management Sciences (DISA)

Chiara Carini

European Research Institute on Cooperative & Social Enterprises (EURICSE)

Maurizio Carpita

ex Department of Quantitative Methods; University of Brescia - Department of Economics and Management

Ericka Costa

University of Trento - Department of Computer and Management Sciences (DISA)

Date Written: February 7, 2012

Abstract

In Italy, social cooperatives are an economic reality that is constantly expanding and plays an increasing role in the national economy.

Social cooperatives are economic organizations of small-to-medium size that are strongly integrated into the local environment where they happen to develop. Given the need to supply crucial services, including social, educational and work integration services, social cooperatives must interact with the local authorities and communities they serve. Over the years, a number of public bodies, institutions and organisations have investigated the evolutionary pattern of social cooperatives as a specific dynamic within the Third Sector, in order to monitor their development and to assess their economic impact as well as their capacity to generate new employment at the local level. Against this backdrop, our investigation analyses the contribution that social cooperatives make to local development, in order to provide evidence of their growing importance.

This analysis is part of a much wider research project conducted by the research centre Euricse, through the development of an observatory focused on cooperatives. This research aims to analyse the role of social cooperatives from both a descriptive and an economic-financial perspective. More specifically, this investigation attempts to contribute to the literature through: i) a descriptive analysis of the main features of Italian social cooperatives that have been active since 2008; ii) a description of the territorial context in which they fit; iii) an analysis of balance sheet indicators that can play a role in measuring the profitability and weight of equity of such entities, through size, regional and sectorial differentiations; and iv) an in-depth investigation of the impact of the action of social cooperatives on both the employment and the economy of a given territory.

From a methodological perspective, the analysis relies on a data warehouse that was created using the AIDA dataset, integrating additional datasets provided by representative organizations (federations) and public registers.

Note: Downloadable document is in Italian.

Keywords: social cooperation, Italy, local development, employment, areas of intervention

JEL Classification: J20, L31, M40

Suggested Citation

Andreaus, Michele and Carini, Chiara and Carpita, Maurizio and Carpita, Maurizio and Costa, Ericka, La Cooperazione in Italia: Un’Overview (Cooperation in Italy: An Overview) (February 7, 2012). Euricse Working Paper No. 27/12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2017441 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2017441

Michele Andreaus

University of Trento - Department of Computer and Management Sciences (DISA) ( email )

Via Inama, 5
I-38100 Trento
Italy

Chiara Carini (Contact Author)

European Research Institute on Cooperative & Social Enterprises (EURICSE) ( email )

Via S. Giovanni 36
38122 Trento (TN)
Italy

Maurizio Carpita

University of Brescia - Department of Economics and Management ( email )

Contrada S. Chiara, 50
Brescia, BS 25122
Italy
+39 030 2988642 (Phone)

ex Department of Quantitative Methods ( email )

Contrada S. Chiara 50
Brescia, BS 25122
Italy
+39 0302988642 (Phone)
+39 0302400925 (Fax)

Ericka Costa

University of Trento - Department of Computer and Management Sciences (DISA) ( email )

Via Inama, 5
I-38100 Trento
Italy

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