Since 2007, the course is offered for students of the master programs Agricultural Economics, Rural Development and Integrated Natural Resource Management. In 2016 the lecture was restructured and updated. In 2020 the lecture has been adapted to an online format.
This course is designed to introduce students to the cooperative business model and to encourage them to think critically about why cooperatives emerge, the ways in which they differ from other forms of enterprise, and how the model can be used to address current social and economic issues.
The course uses different theoretical strands such as collective action, behavioural economics, industrial organisation, rural innovation and development economics, using examples to illustrate concepts and ideas. It also analyses cooperatives as strategies towards poverty alleviation and rural development.
- Course owner: Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch
- Course owner: Renate Judis
- Course owner: Lion Ketterlinus
- Course owner: Agustina Malvido Perez Carletti
- Course owner: Margitta Keturah Minah