Marie Michael Library

Rural Co-operatives and Sustainable Development

Gertler, Michael

This paper examines structural, economic, social, cultural, and political factors that affect the ability of co-operatives to implement more advanced forms of environmental management and sustainable development. The ideas presented are conceptual and preliminary. They are based on a heterodox analysis of co-operatives as social and economic organizations, and on empirical observation of the practices of agricultural-sector co-operatives in Costa Rica, Chile, and Canada.