Profits for All?: The Costs and Benefits of Employee Ownership

by Agustin J. Ros

Overview

As of February 2000, approximately 8.5 million US employees were employed in about 11,500 US businesses that had an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. This study examines the workings of employee-owned firms in market economies to determine whether employee-owned firms are compatible with efficient economic outcomes. The study draws on data collected from employee-owned firms in Brazil and the US to compare worker behavior and motivation in employee-owned and privately owned firms. Early chapters present a detailed review of the theory and practice of employee ownership in developing countries, Brazil, and the US, and later chapters present and analyze study data. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590330616
Publisher:	Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/28/2001
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
Chapter 1	Introduction	1
Chapter 2	The Historical Roots	5
2.1	Introduction	5
2.2	Classical Greek Thought	5
2.3	The Scholastic Period	9
2.4	The Age of Liberalism	11
2.5	Utopian Socialists	12
2.6	Marx and Potter	16
2.7	Classical and Neo-Classical Thought	20
2.8	The Rochdale Experiment	21
2.9	Conclusions	22
Chapter 3	Employee Ownership and Economic Development	23
3.1	Introduction	23
3.2	Types of Cooperatives	24
3.3	Cooperatives in Latin America	26
3.4	Effects on Economic Development	29
3.5	Expectations of Cooperatives	30
3.6	Obstacles Facing Cooperatives	33
3.7	The Role of the State	35
3.8	The Role of the State in the Privatization Process	37
3.9	Conclusions	39
Chapter 4	The Cooperative Movement in Brazil	41
4.1	Introduction	41
4.2	The Early Period	41
4.3	The Changing Nature of the Modern Cooperative Sector	42
4.4	State Involvement	44
4.5	Conclusions	47
Chapter 5	Inside the Black Box	49
5.1	Introduction	49
5.2	Traditional Theories of the Firm	50
5.3	Modern Views of the Firm	51
5.4	Conclusions	62
Chapter 6	Labor-Managed Firms: A Theoretical and Empirical Review of the Economic Literature	63
6.1	Introduction	63
6.2	Theoretical Literature on Labor-Managed Firms	64
6.3	Empirical Review of LMFs and Productivity	71
6.4	Studies Examining Worker Behavior	79
6.5	Conclusions	84
Chapter 7	Evidence from a US ESOP	89
7.1	Introduction	89
7.2	ESOPs	90
7.3	Empirical Analysis	92
7.4	Summary of Results	109
7.5	Importance of Participation	110
7.6	Conclusions	111
	Appendix 1	112
Chapter 8	Evidence from a Brazilian Labor-Managed Firm	115
8.1	Introduction	115
8.2	The Companies	116
8.3	The Model	119
8.4	Difference of Means	123
8.5	Regression Results	124
8.6	Summary of Results	131
8.7	Cross-Country Comparisons	132
8.8	Conclusions	134
	Appendix 1	135
Chapter 9	Conclusions	139
	References	143
	Index	155