UW-Madison: Professor Studies How Cooperatives Improve Economies – Here and Abroad

CONTACT: Ann Hoyt, (608) 262-7390, aahoyt@wisc.edu


MADISON – Come January, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Ann Hoyt will once
more head to the nation of Ghana in Sub-Saharan Africa, to continue her work of
documenting consumer cooperatives around the globe.

But Hoyt, who holds the only U.S. academic appointment specializing in consumer
cooperatives, is also documenting a kind of “reverse technology transfer,” in which
lessons in Ghana may prove applicable at home.

“My long-term goal is to see whether these lessons can be applied here in
Wisconsin’s low-income communities,” says Hoyt, a professor of consumer science in
the School of Human Ecology. “Cooperatives are an effective development tool that
use participant input and control.”

Historically in the United States, the strongest cooperatives have been credit
unions and agricultural cooperatives. But food coops have experienced increased
growth in the past decade, Hoyt says, and there’s a big potential for success for
cooperatives addressing health care and elder care needs.

She notes a home health business in Stevens Point, Wis., and Wisconsin RX, the
Wisconsin Prescription Drug Purchasing Coalition, as two successful recent
cooperative start-ups. Wisconsin RX enables employer groups to gain volume discounts
on drug purchases for their employees.

“If we look at Italy and the United Kingdom, it appears that cooperatives are
providing higher-quality services at less cost than the government or private
sector,” Hoyt says. The same economic potential exists in Wisconsin.

“Cooperatives develop when people realize they have a common need and there’s a
strong leader,” Hoyt notes. “A cooperative is fundamentally a self-help strategy. It
creates economic benefits and helps create social capital, and it succeeds because
of the economic returns and because social networks have value.”

Hoyt, a UW Extension specialist, not only researches the development of
cooperatives, she also has personal experience in leading successful cooperatives.
For many years she chaired the UW Credit Union board of directors and continues to
serve as a board member. She chairs the National Cooperative Business Association
and coordinates an annual conference for the Consumer Cooperative Management
Association.

Earlier this semester, Hoyt received the 2005 School of Human Ecology’s Excellence
in Outreach Award for modeling an outstanding career as an extension outreach
specialist. In addition to her work with cooperatives, she was recognized for
successfully advocating that universities consider service and outreach in faculty
tenure decisions, along with research and teaching.

“I’ve been fortunate to be a faculty member here, where the school’s mission to-
improve the quality of human life implies social change,” Hoyt says.