Rural Supply and Marketing Cooperatives in China: Historical Development, Problems, and Reform
The historical development and performance of rural supply and marketing cooperatives (SMCs) in China are examined and linked to various reform periods. SMCs suffered a loss of focus on members as well as member control during several periods of reform and experienced declining financial performance during the most recent reform period. A number of factors related to this decline are presented, including ineffective reforms, lack of accountability and transparency, limited focus on member needs, a negative image for cooperatives, and poor understanding of contemporary cooperative management and governance practices.
The long march of Chinese co-operatives: towards market economy, participation and sustainable development
This work presents a history of the co-operative firm in China from its origins in the early twenth century. The aim is to describe how in its evolution, the Chinese Co-operative Movement has diverged from the western notion of a co-operative. To understand the similarities and the divergence, we will consider a number of economic and cultural factors, including the etymology of the Chinese and English words for ‘co-operative’, the Confucian culture and the influence of the political contingencies. We argue that contemporary Chinese economic transition would benefit from the presence of a strong, western style, co-operative sector but that the contribution of the co-operative sector towards sustainability cannot take place unless a civil society develops as well.
Evaluating the productive efficiency and performance of US commercial banks
Reviews previous research on the efficiency and performance of financial institutions and uses Siems and Barr’s (1998) data envelopment analysis (DEA) model to evaluate the relative productive efficiency of US commercial banks 1984‐1998. Explains the methodology, discusses the input and output measures used and relates bank performance measures to efficiency. Describes the CAMELS rating system used by bank examiners and regulators; and finds that banks with high efficiency scores also have strong CAMELS ratings. Summarizes the other relationship identified and recommends the use of DEA to help analysts and policy makers understand organizations in greater depth, regulators and examiners to develop monitoring tools and banks to benchmark their processes.