Toward an Organizational Theory of Membership Structural Design

Various events have led to the development of highly complex cooperative operations and to concepts for understanding operations. However. development of membership structures and concepts for understanding these structures has lagged. This paper imports organizational design and contingency theory into the member control literature. Membership structure is understood as organization-like, producing a service (Le., member control). Member control structure is understood as having three aspects (representation, policy making, and oversight) and two environments (the members themselves, and management and operations). Building from cooperative principles and following the development of cooperatives from simple to complex organizations, this paper develops a series of axiomatic propositions for understanding and designing membership structure. Only some of the propositions are testable, and still others are meant only to give continuity and relevance to the propositions as a group (as a theory). Such work should help develop a language for understanding and furthering discussion and research of membership structure and member control in agricultural cooperatives.Agribusiness,

A combined geographic information system and social accounting matrix approach to program impact evaluation of U. S. foreing development assistance

La agencia Estadounidense para el Desarrollo Internacional en el Zaire depende\ud de técnicas analíticas llevadas a cabo por científicos de la zona para computar el\ud beneficio de la ayuda americana en el extranjero. El efecto de los proyectos de objetivo geográfico, tales como los servicios de sanidad, infraestructura, y extensión agrícola, se computa utilizando técnicas de sistema geográfico internacional. El efecto de asistencia de objetivo no geográfico como la reforma de tarifas de importación, la reforma en el sector financiero y la prevención del SIDA se computaron utilizando una técnica matriz de contabilidad social de la zona. Se resumen aquí las técnicas y los beneficios resultantes de combinar estos dos enfoques para organizar la investigación en la efectividad de coste de ayuda al extranjero

A combined geographic information system and social accounting matrix approach to program impact evaluation of U. S. foreing development assistance

La agencia Estadounidense para el Desarrollo Internacional en el Zaire depende de técnicas analíticas llevadas a cabo por científicos de la zona para computar el beneficio de la ayuda americana en el extranjero. El efecto de los proyectos de objetivo geográfico, tales como los servicios de sanidad, infraestructura, y extensión agrícola, se computa utilizando técnicas de sistema geográfico internacional. El efecto de asistencia de objetivo no geográfico como la reforma de tarifas de importación, la reforma en el sector financiero y la prevención del SIDA se computaron utilizando una técnica matriz de contabilidad social de la zona. Se resumen aquí las técnicas y los beneficios resultantes de combinar estos dos enfoques para organizar la investigación en la efectividad de coste de ayuda al extranjero

Does participation improve project performance : establishing causality with subjective data

Development practitioners are coming to a consensus that participation by the intended beneficiaries improves project performance. But is there convincing evidence that this is true? Skeptics have three objections: 1)"Participation is not objective -- project rankings are subjective; 2) this subjectivity leads to"halo effects"; 3) better project performance may have increased beneficiary participation rather than the other way around -- a statistical association is not proof of cause and effect. The authors show methodologically how to answer each of these objections. Subjectivity does not preclude reliable cardinal measurement. Halo effects do not appear to induce a strong upward bias in estimating the effect of participation. Finally, instrumental variables estimation can help establish a structural cause and effect relationship between participation and project performance -- at least in the rural water supply projects they studied.Governance Indicators,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Statistical&Mathematical Sciences,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis

How Rural Counties Can Generate Jobs

The findings are presented from a study of the job generating activities of fifteen ruralcounties in southern Maryland and the Delaware Peninsula. Nine specified informants,who were knowledgeable about economic developments, were interviewed ineach county to learn what actions their counties are taking to develop economicallyand how much each activity contributes to jobs. The activities that impacted the moston jobs were industrial parks, economic developments units, and tourism promotion.Other major job generators were a county group for recruiting businesses, specialcapital arrangements, development bonds, location in county of state or federal governmentactivities, and commercial sites. An analysis of county characteristics andactivities related to job generating success is provided