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‘What do we really know?

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Co-operatives UK has just published new research on worker co-ops, by Virginie Pérotin of Leeds University. Titled 'What do we really know about worker co-operatives?', Pérotin's paper refutes one or two widely shared assumptions.

She finds that:

- Worker co-operatives are larger than conventional businesses and not necessarily less capital intensive

- Worker co-operatives survive at least as long as other businesses and have more stable employment

- Worker cooperatives are more productive than conventional businesses, with stable, “better and smarter” working, and production organised more efficiently

- Worker co-operatives retain a larger share of their profits than other business models

- Executive and non-executive pay differentials are much narrower in worker co-operatives than other forms

Download the full report (PDF format)