ITALY. 



THE DEVElvOPMENT OF THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN 

 ITALY ACCORDING TO RECENT STATISTICAL DATA AS TO 

 THE " LEGA NAZIONALE DELLE COOPERATIVE ". 



SOURCE : 



Annuakio statistico 1 91 6 DEi.LE societA cooperative esistenti in Italia, escluse quelle 

 CHE HANNO PER scopo PRiNCiPALE l'esercizio DEL CREDiTO (Statistical Yearbook 191 6 

 of Co-operative Societies in Italy, exclusive of such as have the affording of Credit as their 

 C^j'e/ .4 tw). lyCga Naziouale delle Cooperative Italiane (A^ahonfli League of Italian Co-op- 

 erative Socielies) (Milan). Como, Tipografia Cooperati\'a Comense « A. Barin, 191 7. 



The Milanese National League of Co-operative Societies had already 

 in 1903 published the first collection to appear in Italy of general statistics 

 as to these societies. It had the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, 

 Industry and Commerce and the assistance of another Milanese society, the 

 Societa Umanitaria ; and the resultant collection was the Statistica delle 

 Societa cooperative italiane esistenti nel 1902 (i). Recently the league 

 has published a Statistical Yearbook of Co-operative Societies for 1916, 

 excluding credit societies. The object of this publication is to " place in 

 relief the importance of the Italian co-operative movement, paying spe- 

 cial attention to those forms of co-operation which are recruited from the 

 humblest classes ". The book has 1500 pages and is the result of long 

 and intensified labour in collecting and elaborating data. It is indubi- 

 tably the most complete work of its kind which has yet appeared in Italy (2). 

 It comprises : a) a list of all the existing co-operative societies ; h) a 



(i) This collection contained three statistical tables and an appendix. Table I. comprised 

 2199 societies and gave data regarding them having reference to 31 December 1901 and distri- 

 buted in four groups (consumption, production and labour, credit, various) and according to 

 the district in which they were situated. Of these societies 1714 comprised 367,450 members 

 and owned a total capital of 74,121,046 liras. In Table II 2199 of the same societies reap- 

 peared, distributed in twelve classes according to their nature and the object of their social 

 enterprise. Table III. gave 322 co-operative societies of Italians outside Italy. In an appen- 

 dix there was a list of 335 co-operative societies existing in 1902, the data as to which arrived 

 only after the two first talile had been drawn up and printed. There followed the enumeration 

 of eighteen institutions of propaganda and aid, such as the Lega nazionale and the district, 

 provincial and local federations, and numerous tables. 



(2) Other publications of the same kind have been printed bj' the offices of the Direzione 

 generate del Credito e delta Prevtdenza at the Ministry of Agriculture , Industry and Commerce. 

 One of these, which appeared in 1908, is a mere list, showmg the date at which the co-operative 

 societies were formed and giving information as to their paid-up capital. Another which was 

 more complete appeared in 1910, and the j^earbook under review refers to this m making the 

 comparisons by which it places in relief the progress of the movement from igiotoigi.?. 



