Mutuals on the Move: Exclusion Processes in the Welfare State and the Rediscovery of Mutualism

Declining welfare states and increasing privatization of the insurance sector are leaving an increasing number of people, particularly in Europe, without insurance. In many countries, new initiatives like Friendsurance (Germany), Broodfonds (the Netherlands), and Lemonade (US) have emerged to fill this gap. These initiatives, sometimes called peer-to-peer insurance, aim to make insurance fair, transparent, and social again. Resembling 19th-century mutuals, they pool premiums in (small) risk-sharing pools. We compare eleven new mutuals with respect to their institutional, resource, and member characteristics and find two broad typologies. The first bears the most resemblance to the 19th-century mutuals: Members are (partly) responsible for governance, there is no risk differentiation, premiums are fixed and low, and insurance payouts cover basic expenses only and are not guaranteed. The second group, while also applying risk-sharing and redistribution of unused premiums, is organized more like the present-day commercial insurers it reacted against, e.g., with refined InsurTech methods for risk differentiation and a top-down organization. We thus pose that, while both groups of new insurers reinvent the meaning of solidarity by using direct risk-sharing groups (as is central to the concept of mutuals), they have different projected development paths - especially considering how, in case of further growth, they deal with problems of moral hazard and adverse selection. Supplementary File, s. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i1.212

Українська дияволіада: етимологізаційний аспект

Стаття присвячена проблемі використання української демонології на сторінках літературних творів як засобу прояву агресії. На прикладі аналізу творів О. Стороженка, С. Руданського, Т. Осьмачки, В. Барки, Ю. Андруховича проаналізовано етимологічний аспект образу диявола в літературі, осмислення його не тільки як деструктивного засобу для прояву літературної агресії, але і як позитивного начала, психологічного засобу звільнення від стресу та психопатичних комплексів.Статья посвящена рассмотрению использования украинской демонологии на страницах литературных произведений как средства проявления агрессии. На примере анализа произведений О. Стороженко, С. Руданского, Т. Осьмачки, В. Барки, Ю. Андруховича проанализировано этимологический аспект образа дьявола в литературе, осмысление его не только как деструктивное средство для проявления литературной агрессии, но и как позитивное начало, психологическое средство освобождения от стресса и психопатических комплексов.The article is dedicated to consideration of the usage of Ukrainian demonology in literary works as a means of aggressive expression. On the pattern of the analysis of O.Storoghtnko, S.Rudanskiy, T.Osmachka, V.Barka, Y.Andruhovich’s works an attempt of image etymology of the devil in literature was made. He was comprehended not only expression but also as a positive beginning, psychological means to free from stress and psychopathic complexes

Using the institutional grammar to understand collective resource management in a heterogenous cooperative facing external shocks

Worker cooperatives in the gig economy can involve large and heterogeneous memberships, which makes them vulnerable to member opportunism depleting collective resources. External shocks may present another challenge for collective resource management. This raises the question of how heterogeneous cooperatives design rules to mitigate opportunistic behavior and whether these rules evolve in the face of external shocks. We study the case of Smart Belgium between 2017 and 2022, thereby covering the COVID-19 pandemic and new cooperative legislation as external shocks. Building on the institutional grammar methodology, we analyze 412 rules of Smart. The findings indicate that external shocks with sudden resource scarcity do not necessarily motivate rule changes (COVID-19) while external shocks without an effect on collective resources can motivate rule changes (national policy change). The study also shows what kind of rules heterogeneous cooperatives may design to mitigate opportunism.</p