Editing Cooperative (section)

=== Cooperatives as legal entities ===
[[File:Muntó de tomaques a la Cooperativa d'Alginet, País Valencià, 1963.jpg|thumb|right|Cooperative of agricultural products of [[Alginet]], 1963]]
A cooperative is a [[legal person|legal entity]] owned and democratically controlled by its members. Members often have a close association with the enterprise as producers or consumers of its products or services, or as its employees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uk.coop/what-co-operative |title=What is a co-operative |website=[[Co-operatives UK]]}}</ref> The legal entities have a range of social characteristics. Membership is open, meaning that anyone who satisfies certain non-discriminatory conditions may join. Economic benefits are distributed proportionally to each member's level of participation in the cooperative, for instance, by a dividend on sales or purchases, rather than according to [[capital (economics)|capital]] invested.<ref name=Identity>International Cooperative Alliance. [https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity Statement on the Cooperative Identity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127013501/https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity |date=27 November 2020 }}</ref> Cooperatives may be classified as either ''worker'', ''consumer'', ''producer'', ''purchasing'' or ''housing'' cooperatives.<ref>Andrew McLeod (December 2006). [http://www.nwcdc.coop/Resources/CSS/CSS01Types.pdf Types of Cooperatives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718162338/http://www.nwcdc.coop/Resources/CSS/CSS01Types.pdf |date=18 July 2011 }}. Northwest Cooperative Development Centre. Retrieved on: 31 July 2011.</ref> They are distinguished from other forms of incorporation in that profit-making or economic stability are balanced by the interests of the community.<ref name = Identity />

There are specific forms of incorporation for cooperatives in some countries, e.g. [[Finland]]<ref>[https://www.finlex.fi/fi/lainsaadanto/saadoskokoelma/2013/421 Osuuskuntalaki] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414211822/http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2013/20130421 |date=14 April 2019 }} (421/2013, Cooperatives act).§&nbsp;2: "Osuuskunta on jäsenistään erillinen oikeushenkilö, joka syntyy rekisteröimisellä." This translates as, "A cooperative is a legal person separate from its persons, born by registration." Finlex database. Retrieved 4 December 2015. {{in lang|fi}}</ref> and Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coopdevelopment.org.au/coopglossary.html#da|title=Australian Co-operative Glossary|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=14 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190314162350/https://www.coopdevelopment.org.au/coopglossary.html#da|url-status=live}}</ref> Cooperatives may take the form of companies limited by shares or by guarantee, partnerships or unincorporated associations. In the UK they may also use the [[industrial and provident society]] structure. In the US, cooperatives are often organized as non-capital stock corporations under state-specific cooperative laws. Cooperatives often share their earnings with the membership as [[dividend]]s, which are divided among the members according to their participation in the enterprise, such as patronage, instead of according to the value of their capital shareholdings (as is done by a [[joint stock company]]).