合作社效率评价:一个理论分析框架

合作社效率内涵应包含两个方面:一方面可理解为合作社的投入产出效率,属于其内部效率|另一方面指合作社对社会总福利的贡献度,可视为其外部效率。合作社对投入产出效率的追求具有现实合理性。相同的目标函数是衡量合作社效率的前提条件。规模影响合作社效率,理论上存在最优规模|内部治理因素对合作社效率的影响是至关重要的,其中社员结构及素质、经理(管理者)的人力资本是关键|制度环境、资源环境和市场环境等外部环境通过作用于合作社的内部治理要素,影响合作社的资源配置与利用,进而影响合作社效率。从政策层面来看,向社员(包括经理)投资是提高合作社效率的关键。此外,有必要考虑外部环境的作用。

The Efficiency Assessment of Cooperatives: A Theoretical Analysis Frame

Efficiency is an everlastingissue which is of special importance toany economic society . In the modern market economy society,inefficiency means losing competitiveness . It is imperative for cooperatives toimproveeconomicefficiency,thus maintaining theircompetitiveness .Generally there are two aspects in the concept of cooperative efficiency . On the one hand,it can be understood as cooperative input-output efficiency,which means to obtain maximum output at a certain level of input,or to realize minimuminput at a certain level of output .This belongs to internal efficiency for cooperatives . On the other hand,it also can be regarded as external efficiency for cooperatives,which means the comprehensive efficiency of cooperatives in promoting reasonable allocation of social resources among various departments while pursuing internal efficiency . In short,external efficiency refers to cooperatives'contribution to total welfare in society . However,the external efficiency for cooperatives,in other words,the ideal Pareto optimality,does not exist in reality and it would be difficult tocarry on quantitative evaluation .Therefore,it is realistically reasonable for cooperatives to pursue input-output efficiency . The cooperative efficiency is determined by the chosen objective function .Cooperatives with different functions have different objective functions . For example,objective functions for marketing cooperatives and for purchasing cooperatives are different . Identical objective function is the basic premise for measuring cooperative efficiency . It is an accidental phenomenon for cooperatives to realize efficiency because of information asymmetry,poor management etc . Generally inefficiency manifests in cooperatives . Therefore,there is practical significance of adopting effective methods to measurecooperative efficiency accurately and in discussing profound reasons affecting the efficiency . The influence of scale on cooperative efficiency is obvious .It is generally believed that there exists an optimal scale for each cooperative,with which the cooperative can reach its maximum efficiency .It also should be noted that cooperatives need an appropriate scale,which may grow bigger with the expanding of social-economic scale .Only the cooperative has dynamic adaptability in terms of scale can it achieve higher efficiency in increasingly fierce global competition . Internal control factors have essential impact on cooperative efficiency .Among thesefactors,staff structure and manager's human capital are the most important ones . To some extent,the process of improving cooperative efficiency is the process of constantly improving staff and manager's quality and ability . It is also clear that a certain size of board members and the supervision of certain members from supervisory board can improve cooperative efficiency . The external environments such as institution,resource and market also affect resource allocation and utilization in cooperatives though influencing internal control factors,and then affect cooperative efficiency . Therefore,a cooperative which can achieve input-output efficiency has to rely on the coordinative operation between internal control mechanism and external environments . As far as policy is concerning,investment on staff,including managers,is the key to improve cooperative efficiency . Given the fact that most staff members in Chinese cooperatives have weak cooperative awareness and are incompetent in management,investing on them is especially significant .In particular,the approaches to promote efficiency of cooperatives include improving staff's human capital by education and training and improving their cooperative awareness,discussion competence,managerial capability,and response to environment . In addition,it is necessary to consider the role of external environments .Besides continuing to perfect relevant laws and regulations and creating a better institutional environment,other factors such as regional resources environment should also be taken into consideration . It is important to adjust policies to accord with different resource factors in different regions in order to produce a positive incentive effect on the development of cooperatives .