ABSTRACT
The international co-operative movement faced three major challenges from the end of the Second World War to the mid-1970s: sustained economic growth and prosperity in Western industrial countries; the international divisions underlying the Cold War; and decolonization, particularly in Africa and Asia. Consumer co-operatives faced growing competition as privately owned rivals took advantage of the development of supermarkets and supply chain management. By contrast, the quest for finance to fund personal loans and housing led to a growth of financial co-operatives and building societies in a number of countries. Co-operatives became an instrument of the state in the People’s Republic of China and in decolonized countries in Africa as one way of shaping economic development.
