Cooperative formation and immigration: The case of cow-testing associations in the US dairy industry

Alian, Ziad Sabbah

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129290 Copy

Description

Title

Cooperative formation and immigration: The case of cow-testing associations in the US dairy industry

Author(s)

Alian, Ziad Sabbah

Issue Date

2025-05-07

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Hutchins, Jared

Committee Member(s)

• McNamara, Paul
• Osman, Adam

Department of Study

Agr & Consumer Economics

Discipline

Agricultural & Applied Econ

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Economics
• history
• agriculture
• cow-testing
• associations
• cooperatives
• institutions
• dairy
• DHIA
• CTA

Abstract

We study how European immigrants influenced the formation of a productivity-enhancing cooperative – cow-testing associations (CTAs) – in the early 20th century US. Institutions are important for economic development and agriculture in specific, so understanding why they form is important. CTAs, farmer cooperatives which tested the butterfat of dairy cows, were brought to the US from Denmark by a Danish immigrant, Helmer Rabild. We hypothesize that Danish and Dutch immigrant communities were important to their formation because of knowledge transfers and a willingness to “stick” with new organizations. Using novel data on these cooperatives combined with micro-census data, we find evidence that counties with higher influxes of Danes– who came between 1880 and 1900 – had a higher chance of forming CTAs. There are positive effects for the Dutch too, albeit imprecise. We also find suggestive evidence that testers were more likely to have Danish surnames – suggesting that Danes transferred knowledge of CTAs.

Graduation Semester

2025-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129290

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Ziad Sabbah Alian

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