Boards in Agricultural Cooperatives: Competence, Authority, and Incentives

This article addresses three observations regarding the board of directors in agricultural cooperatives. First, many scholars and practitioners worry about the competency of the member dominated board of directors in agricultural cooperatives. Second, it is sometimes stated that cooperatives seem to behave like ordinary enterprises. Finally, it is argued that cooperatives may have advantages compared to firms with publicly exchanged shares. These observations are analyzed from various contract theoretic perspectives.