French Employee-Owned Companies Perform Well

A new study of worker cooperatives in France has found that these companies are as productive as or possibly more productive overall than conventional firms in most industries. The study also shows that in several industries, the cooperatives use their capital inputs more efficiently. French worker cooperatives employ about 40,000 people in a variety of industries. The study looked at 500 worker cooperatives with at least 20 employees and 7,000 comparable conventional firms. The study is "Productivity, Capital and Labor in Labor-Managed and Conventional Firms" by Fathi Fakhfakh of Paris II University, Virginie Pérotin of Leeds University, and Mónica Gago of Mondragon University in Spain. It is currently in submission for publication.