Italian cooperatives between 2008 and 2013: economic, asset and employment dynamics

The aim of the report is to examine how Italian firms reacted to the economic crisis according to business sector, size and target markets, with different consequences such as closures, downsizing or growth sustained by innovations and market expansion. It is also intended to analyze how the form of ownership, particularly cooperatives, influenced these behaviors, with a focus on their countercyclical role.

Using data from a variety of sources, we aim to quantify the contribution of cooperatives to the resilience of the Italian economy during the economic crisis by comparing economic and employment trends during 2008-2013.

This paper is part of the Third Euricse | 2015 report “Cooperative Economy. Relevance, evolution and new frontiers of Italian cooperation“.