Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
10-2023
Abstract
In The Theory of Peasant Cooperatives, Chayanov develops the theories of differential optima and vertical integration, which stress the vulnerability of peasant farming in capitalist markets, and argues that cooperatives can support smallholders only if they operate as ‘a cooperative movement’, are buttressed by a strong ‘cooperative culture’, and achieve ‘vertical integration’. Based on extensive fieldwork in China, we identify six major obstacles that explain the failure of most cooperatives. Chayanov’s arguments caution us to not only the vital importance of cooperatives to the resilience of peasant farming, but also the apparently insurmountable obstacles that cooperatives face in market economies.
Keywords
peasant resilience, vertical integration, cooperatives, agribusiness, Chayanov, China
Discipline
Agribusiness | Asian Studies | Rural Sociology | Sociology of Culture
Research Areas
Sociology; Political Science
Publication
Journal of Peasant Studies
Volume
50
Issue
7
First Page
2611
Last Page
2641
ISSN
0306-6150
Identifier
10.1080/03066150.2022.2104159
Publisher
Routledge
Citation
HU, Zhanping, ZHANG, Qian Forrest, & DONALDSON, John A..(2023). Why do farmers’ cooperatives fail in a market economy? Rediscovering Chayanov with the Chinese experience. Journal of Peasant Studies, 50(7), 2611-2641.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3649
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2022.2104159
Included in
Agribusiness Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Rural Sociology Commons, Sociology of Culture Commons