Cooperative-Led Growth and Institutional Quality: Evidence from the Global North-South Regional Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58547/h08v8z53Keywords:
Cooperatives, Inclusive Growth, Institutional Quality, Cross Regions EvidenceAbstract
The role of cooperatives in fostering inclusive growth is unevenly distributed across countries and regions. This disparity is gauged by the World Cooperative Monitor (WCM) data on the top 300 performing cooperatives. This study analyzed the effect of cooperatives on economic growth across Global North-South countries. Specifically, the study used available data from WCM to analyze trends and patterns of cooperatives' performance from 2016 to 2023. Comparative analysis on the role of cooperatives in bolstering inclusive economic growth was empirically analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Bias-corrected linear dynamic fixed/rand effect model and findings were validated by a dynamic GMM estimator. The study sample was drawn from 30 countries that were performing well in cooperatives. The findings reveal that cooperatives in the Global South performed less than those in the Global North due to low institutional quality values. Cooperatives in African countries were marginally represented in the global rank. Further analysis shows that cooperatives have positive and significant effect on economic growth and once supported with strong institutional frameworks, they tend to elevate further economic development. The findings shed light on the existing cooperative growth disparities across countries. This calls for cooperative members, leaders and development partners to foster contemporary cooperative transformative motives by emphasizing policies related to bolstering institutional quality for inclusive growth. An interesting topic for a follow-up study would be to explore and design an integrated data infrastructure for the Global South which can further enhance empirical studies across regions.
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