France

Abstract

The aim of this chapter — by a non-economist — is to look at certain aspects of the economic performance of French cooperatives and seek to assess the utility of formal economic models of self-management in understanding these data. The first section briefly outlines aspects of the history and constitution of French co-operatives and seeks to draw from this a number of general elements of ‘motivation’. Subsequent sections look at the scale and usage of funds; the nature of production and organisation; rewards to labour; and more dynamic aspects of performance, making comparisons with French industry generally and between co-operatives.

This chapter is based on a paper entitled ‘Some aspects of the economic performance of French producer co-operatives’, presented at the Walton Symposium, Glasgow, June 1979.