WORKER COOPERATIVES AND THE BUSINESS-CYCLE - ARE COOPERATIVES THE ANSWER TO UNEMPLOYMENT

The effects of the business cycle on organizational founding and failure rates in the complete population of worker cooperatives in Maritime Canada from 1900 to 1987 are examined. The empirical results, consistent with findings from previous research on worker cooperatives in the United States and Israel, indicate that cooperatives evolved independently of the business cycle. The findings, interpreted within a population ecology framework, challenge the popular argument that a growing cooperative sector is the answer to the problem of unemployment.