Legislative framework and its effect on cooperative sector in Colombia (1933-2014)

Abstract

This research aims to quantitatively estimate the effect of the main Laws and Decrees promulgated for the cooperative sector on its growth in Colombia. The information is constructed from 1933-2014 at the National level and from 1980-2014 at the departmental (regional) level. Based on the estimation of intervention models under the ARIMA methodology, it is evident that the legal framework has not had a statistically significant effect on the growth of the sector. The main reasons for this result are the wide dispersion and lack of coherence of the cooperative policy, the policy approach more towards regulation, supervision and surveillance than the promotion and strengthening, and insufficient understanding of the potential negative effects associated with a collective property structure.