The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing?
Cooperatives fulfilled a broad and central role not only in the economic development, but also in the creation of civil society, in a population decimated and fragmented by the politics and culture of the Franco dictatorship. The province of Almeria, Spain, is an example of smallholding rapid develo...
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| Format: | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI
2020
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10835/9038 |
| _version_ | 1789406671873769472 |
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| author | Giagnocavo, Cynthia |
| author_facet | Giagnocavo, Cynthia |
| author_sort | Giagnocavo, Cynthia |
| collection | DSpace |
| description | Cooperatives fulfilled a broad and central role not only in the economic development, but also in the creation of civil society, in a population decimated and fragmented by the politics and culture of the Franco dictatorship. The province of Almeria, Spain, is an example of smallholding rapid development due to the expansion of intensive greenhouse horticulture. It was the poorest Spanish province per capita in 1955, semi-arid, drought-ridden, and devoid of significant infrastructure. Its undereducated population held little promise for economic growth and a massive migration out of the province left it depopulated. Subsequent economic and social development of Almeria was closely tied to the establishment of both credit and agricultural cooperatives, which supported a new greenhouse agriculture for small plot family farmers organized around cooperatives. This paper focuses on how cooperatives were fundamental in constructing civil society for the benefit of poor rural people, even in the presence of significant negative social capital and undemocratic institutions during the Franco dictatorship. As the sector has modernized and matured, cooperatives have led the sustainable transformation of the business ecosystem. However, current shortcomings in the Almeria cooperative movement and civil society and challenges yet to be met are also raised. |
| format | info:eu-repo/semantics/article |
| id | oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-9038 |
| institution | Universidad de Cuenca |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-90382023-04-12T19:09:18Z The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? Giagnocavo, Cynthia agricultural cooperatives civil society cooperative banks local development sustainable innovation Cooperatives fulfilled a broad and central role not only in the economic development, but also in the creation of civil society, in a population decimated and fragmented by the politics and culture of the Franco dictatorship. The province of Almeria, Spain, is an example of smallholding rapid development due to the expansion of intensive greenhouse horticulture. It was the poorest Spanish province per capita in 1955, semi-arid, drought-ridden, and devoid of significant infrastructure. Its undereducated population held little promise for economic growth and a massive migration out of the province left it depopulated. Subsequent economic and social development of Almeria was closely tied to the establishment of both credit and agricultural cooperatives, which supported a new greenhouse agriculture for small plot family farmers organized around cooperatives. This paper focuses on how cooperatives were fundamental in constructing civil society for the benefit of poor rural people, even in the presence of significant negative social capital and undemocratic institutions during the Franco dictatorship. As the sector has modernized and matured, cooperatives have led the sustainable transformation of the business ecosystem. However, current shortcomings in the Almeria cooperative movement and civil society and challenges yet to be met are also raised. 2020-12-09T10:37:14Z 2020-12-09T10:37:14Z 2020-11-24 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2071-1050 http://hdl.handle.net/10835/9038 en https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9820 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess MDPI |
| spellingShingle | agricultural cooperatives civil society cooperative banks local development sustainable innovation Giagnocavo, Cynthia The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title | The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title_full | The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title_fullStr | The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title_short | The Development of the Cooperative Movement and Civil Society in Almeria, Spain: Something from Nothing? |
| title_sort | development of the cooperative movement and civil society in almeria, spain: something from nothing? |
| topic | agricultural cooperatives civil society cooperative banks local development sustainable innovation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10835/9038 |
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