In Italy, social cooperatives are an economic reality that is constantly expanding and plays an increasing role in the national economy. Social cooperatives are economic organizations of small-to-medium size that are strongly integrated into the local environment where they happen to develop....

Despite a growing interest in cooperatives, the knowledge of real economic, occupational and social dimensions of the cooperative enterprises is still little and fragmentary, at both a national and an international level. This is also the case of Italy, a country with one of the most widespread...

Despite the growing interest in cooperative enterprise, our knowledge of the real economic, social, and employment size of the cooperative movement, both internationally and within individual countries, is scarce and fragmentary. In Italy over the years, a number of public bodies, institutions,...

This paper describes the role of social cooperatives in Italy as a type of economic, nonprofit organization that is assuming an increasingly central role in the country, by contributing to its economic and social growth. In the last decade many agencies, institutions and research centres (Istat...

The current economic crisis has hit the Italian economic system hard (Bugamelli et al, 2009; Accetturo et al., 2011) and has once again highlighted the economic divide between the northern and southern regions of Italy (Banca d’Italia, 2012). Official statistics (Istat, 2012a; Istat, 2012b) outline a...