ABSTRACT
We are living in a world where the occurrence of crises—global or local—has increasingly become the ‘new normal.’ What the likes of the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unpredictable future crises caused by climate change have in common is aggravating inequality by reducing labor income and denying people access to basic goods and services . Under such circumstances, this chapter argues that cooperatives help people withstand global and local crises. Cooperatives contribute to minimizing labor income decreases during global crises by reducing both loss of employment and loss of earnings. Furthermore, given that local crises usually take the form of a lack of access to basic goods and services, cooperatives help local people access such basic goods and services . The examples include areas such as insurance, food, housing, utilities, health, education, and digital connectivity.
