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In the current situation, the social economy has a very important role to play because of its capacity to create employment and to energise sectors or collectives with particular economic development problems. For this reason, the ability to measure the real scope - both direct and indirect - of its impact on economic activity and employment is a matter of great interest. This paper proposes the use of multi-sector models, based on social accounting matrices, to measure the total impact of the social economy. Combining these models with the available statistical data on social economy enterprises in Spain will also make it possible to obtain information to quantify this impact in particular sectors of interest. Additionally, in this way the capacity of the social economy to contribute to economic recovery can also be assessed. The results show that social economy enterprises have a greater capacity for job creation than other companies in Spain, particularly in service sectors. This is augmented by the considerable ability of these sectors (essentially services) to multiply impacts and by their high employment ratio, which is still greater in the case of the social economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to analyse the presence of women in different spheres of the agri-cultural cooperative enterprises in the province of Teruel, where the preponderance of the agricultural sector is paramount. This research compares, firstly, the extent to which the participation of women as against men differs both in employment and in the governing and representative bodies of cooperatives in the rural agricultural environment in Teruel. Subsequently the presence of women in agricultural cooperatives is compared with other sectors and the existence of statistically significant differences is confirmed for some of the variables analysed. This study contributes to the literature on gender and cooperatives in the agricultural sector, an aspect which has hardly been studied in previous works and which enhances the knowledge on the value provided by the presence of women in agricultural sector cooperatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to build the satellite accounts of the Social Economy enterprises in Asturias for 2005, in order to ascertain the chief macroeconomic dimensions so that the importance, strengths and weaknesses of this sector may be explored. These accounts are drawn up according to type of activity and enterprise. A prior descriptive analysis of the Social Economy of Asturias has been made, both at the level of sector enterprises and the employment it generates; likewise, a geographical study of where these third sector enterprises are located and their characteristics has also been undertaken. To enrich the data, a comparative study of the importance of the Social Economy in relation to the "rest" of the economy of Asturias and with the Social Economy nationally was also made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the quality of employment generated by Labour companies and Special Employment Centres, as well as their positive links to social cohesion, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y Leon. To this end, it considers various indicators of the different dimensions around which the "quality jobs" concept mentioned in the European Employment Strategy revolves. Within this framework, the analysis focuses on examining the degree of job quality in the two types of firms, using an empirical source: the results of a survey of businesses in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study the connection between training policy and labour flexibility practices in the Mondragon cooperative corporation, exploring whether this connection might explain Mondragon's success in dealing with recession. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 managers from Mondragon's corporate training centres, some of whom provided internal documents on training and employment policies which have also been incorporated into our analysis. We find that training in general skills can generate competitive advantages in a highly diversified corporation when this training policy goes hand in hand with an employment policy that promotes lifelong employment, functional flexibility and the relocation of employees between the corporation's different companies. The training policy and the labour flexibility practices developed by Mondragon and their positive effects may be applicable in other corporations and especially in other diversified cooperative groups that aim to maintain employment during economic downturns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a critical evaluation of the economic survival of labour-managed firms (LMF) compared to that of conventional companies, paying particular attention to their different forms of capital ownership. There are many arguments both ways; some argue that LMFs enjoy a higher likelihood of survival, since they offer greater employment stability and their workers enjoy more incentives as they are involved in the decision-making process. The counterarguments claim that LMFs are less efficient, due largely to the free-rider problem, serious agent-principal problems, a higher degree of risk aversion on the part of their worker-owners and degeneration due to rent-seeking behaviour, which reduces their likelihood of survival. The results of this evaluation point to the divergence between most of the predictions of economic theory and the successful development of LMFs in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]