Articles in Economy

Another great article is up on the blog of Shift Change, a documentary film in progress telling the little known stories of employee owned businesses that compete successfully in today’s economy while providing secure, dignified jobs in democratic...

"In the age of unemployment, downsizing, and outsourcing, where can a poor soul find a job? Well, maybe it’s time we create our own. Self-employment is an option and can seem freeing, but it’s hard to do everything yourself and find time for a non-...

No one in the US seems to like the big banks any more – and that seems to be true from left to right on the political spectrum. On the other hand, that is still where most Americans keep their money. In their recent Presidential debate,...

Immanuel Ness reports, via the Luxembburg Gesellschaftsanalyse und Linke Praxiz, on the 2011 Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy. "The Eastern Conference for Workplace Democracy (ECWD) held its biannual conference in Baltimore, Maryland from...

From John McNamara at the Workers' Paradise: If you happen to be near Quebec City this week, two exciting conferences will be taking place. The first is about business succession planning with an emphasis of selling businesses to one’s employees....

Here is a spreadsheet to show some examples of calculating patronage.  "Patronage", as you may know, is the amount of work performed as a member of a worker cooperative,  measured in accordance with the certificate of incorporation and by-...

Prudential BSN Takaful (PruBSN) has been awarded the Rising Star Takaful Institution 2011 award from the ‘The Asset,’ a Hong Kong based publishing and research group. The award was received by Mr Azim Mithani, Chief Executive Officer of PruBSN, at a...

"The Democracy at Work Network (DAWN) is a network of certified peer advisors, all with strong social and professional ties, who cooperate in training themselves and providing technical assistance services to worker cooperatives. Our goals are to...

With banks doing away with free checking and tacking on more fees, you may be able to get more bang for your buck with a credit union. Credit unions typically offer better deals on checking accounts, loans and other products compared with banks...

Here are some readings to become familiar with the waves of cooperative organizing that have been a part of the United States' history.  Many cooperative guides will use the Rochdale Pioneers and Mondragon as historical touchstones, but...

"The U.S. fiscal and economic challenges today stem from a basic problem: too many companies and assets are owned solely for profit. It boils down to what I will call an ownership crisis.  Because mortgages were owned by investors all over the...