Catching a wave: the formation of co-operatives in Finnish regions

Panu Kalmi ()

Small Business Economics, 2013, vol. 41, issue 1, 295-313

Abstract: This paper compares the formation rates of co-operatives and conventional firms in Finland using regional data. The Finnish co-operative “wave” that began in the mid-1990s provides a useful setting for testing the hypothesis that co-operative formation rates are higher in depressed economic conditions. The empirical results support this hypothesis. Co-operatives are formed more often in regions with high unemployment; in contrast, conventional firms are formed more often when unemployment is low and demand growth is high. Furthermore, the existence of dedicated advisory services boosts the formation of co-operatives. These results indicate that co-operatives may play a useful role in reducing unemployment and that the formation of co-operatives may be influenced by policy measures. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2013

Keywords: Regional analysis of firm formation; Co-operatives; Finland; Unemployment and firm entry; L26; M13; P13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:41:y:2013:i:1:p:295-313

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DOI: 10.1007/s11187-012-9424-1

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