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
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
Language
eng
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.
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