Agricultural Cooperatives

The course Cooperative Economy is addressed to the students of the department of Agricultural Products and Food Business Administration. The main aim of the course is to introduce students to the concept of cooperatives and present their characteristics and the differences with the investor owned firms. In this direction presents the cooperatives principles and the economic theories that are applied to cooperatives. Special attention is given to the Greek legislation for agricultural cooperatives. The course also presents the structure of cooperatives in Greece and the alternative organization types available for cooperatives. The course ends with presenting the development potential of the cooperative business model.

Objectives

With the successful completion of this course students will have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills to understand theoretical and empirical issues about agricultural cooperatives for example: To know the concept of cooperatives and identify the features of cooperatives To get familiar with the cooperatives principles and understand their importance. To study the historical evolution of the Greek agricultural cooperatives. To get familiar with the Greek cooperatives’ legislation and study how the Greek state has intervened to the agricultural cooperatives To understand the economic theory of cooperatives and their bargaining power advantage To know the structure of the Greek agricultural cooperative and be able to distinguish the different forms of cooperative organizations. To understand the differences in the operation of cooperative firms and investor owned firms To study the necessity of multiple voting rights for cooperative members. To get familiar with other types of agricultural cooperatives such as new generation cooperatives. To study the potential of cooperatives development and be able to identify the circumstances that will allow that.

Prerequisites

No need

Syllabus

The course agricultural cooperatives examines the following topics: Introduction to agricultural cooperatives The cooperatives principles The history of the Greek Agricultural cooperatives The Greek legislation for cooperatives The economic theory of cooperatives Greek cooperatives’ structure and types Compare cooperative firm and Investor owned firms Patronage Dividends and voting rights Alternative organization types for cooperatives The development potential of the cooperative business model