Montpellier, Francia 6 al 8 de julio de 2022
The International Association for the Economics of Participation (IAFEP) gathers scholars dedicated to exploring
the economics of democratic and participatory organizations, such as labor-managed firms, cooperatives and
firms with broad-based employee share-ownership, profit sharing and worker participation schemes, as well as
democratic nonprofit, community and social enterprises. The IAFEP Conferences, which take place every two
years, provide an international forum for presentations and discussions of current research on the economics of
participation. The 2022 IAFEP Conference will be held in Montpellier (France).
This year’s conference will focus on the impact of participatory economic organizations on local development. The
advantages of globalization have been partially reconsidered in the recent years, for conjunctural reasons with
supply chain crisis due to Covid-19, but also for structural reasons including the environmental cost of
transportation and increasing inter-regional inequalities. In this context, we want to question the connection
between locally committed firms and the economics of participation. Are firms more likely to generate local
development when workers are more involved in terms of profit-sharing and/or decision-making? What kind of
local development is encouraged by economic participation? Are firms less likely to be relocated or closed down?
Are stakeholders likely to be more involved at the local level? Is there a correlation between economic
participation and political participation? What are the expected consequences on the environment? And on
inequality, both intra and inter-regional? Can participatory economics play a role against social exclusion?
A special session will also be organized on employee participation and diversity. Hansmann’s theoretical work in
the 1990s raised the issue of the cost of diversity for workplace democracy. A broader approach has emerged in
recent empirical work: while the cost of decision-making is still an important question, researchers are also
analyzing the effect of employee participation on gender and race inequalities, the representation of different
“minorities” in position of powers, the dynamics leading to the inclusion or exclusion of different categories of
workers, etc. This seems like a promising field for research as results so far are still scarce and contrasted. This
conference session on employee participation and diversity will lead to the publication of a special issue of the
Journal of Participation and Employee Ownership with the best papers of the conference participants.
We also invite proposals for broader traditional themes of the IAFEP.
Key themes:
1/ Development and dynamics of financial and decision-making participation
The range of organizations implementing financial and decision-making participation is broad and growing, from
profit sharing to employee ownership, flat-organizations, employees on the board, works councils, trade-unions,
etc. The drivers of the different types of participation can be very diverse. We are interested in research about the
evolution and implications of participation in these organizations in industrialized, post-industrial, transition, and
developing economies
2/ Effects of participation on firms’ and workers’ outcomesWe invite communications on the impact of workers’ participation on firms’ economic performance, as well as
other outcomes – such as wages, working conditions, human resource practices, corporate social responsibility
practices, etc. Communications with empirical approaches are particularly encouraged.
3/ Socio-economic and political environment
The creation, growth and stability of participatory firms are influenced by the economic and social environment as
well as the public policies and laws surrounding firms and participation. We welcome communications about the
incidence of this broad environment on participation, including historical and international comparative
approaches.
4/ Economic participation and political democracy
Participation in firms also raises the question of the relationship between economic participation and political
democracy. On one hand, can economic participation affect political involvement of workers-citizens? On the
other hand, is economic participation more likely to thrive in a democratic and more egalitarian environment?
Submissions for the 2022 conference, are invited from all relevant fields of study, including comparative
economics, industrial and labor economics, organizational studies, social economics, management studies,
institutional economics, evolutionary economics, development economics, sociology, psychology, political science,
geography, law, and philosophy. Interdisciplinary approaches are welcomed. We also invite proposals for
complete sessions.
Extended Abstracts (max. 1000 words) in English should be sent by e-mail to Nathalie Magne at
nathalie.magne@univ-montp3.fr by March 14, 2022. Abstracts should include full details of institutional
affiliations and e-mail addresses. Proposals for complete sessions should include a brief description of the theme
of the session and an abstract for each paper.
Authors will be notified by April 29, 2022 whether their papers are accepted for presentation. Complete drafts
should reach us by June 15, 2020 in order to be handed out to Conference participants.
Conference Dates
The conference will consist of three days of sessions on July 6, 7 and 8. A welcoming reception will take place on
July 5.
Registration and Accommodations
Detailed information on registration (including fees) and local accommodations will be available on the
conference website in early April: http://www.iafep.org/2022-conference/
Participants from Developing and Transition Economies and Students
A small amount of funding is available for participants from developing and transition economies and students. In
order to be considered for the funding, researchers should clarify it in the abstract submission.
Horvat-Vanek Prize
The Horvat-Vanek prize is awarded every two years for a research paper of exceptional quality written by a young
scholar in one of the areas of interest to IAFEP. The prize, of a value of US$ 1,000, will be awarded during the
conference. In order to be considered for the prize, researchers and doctoral students aged 35 or under should
submit one research paper in English (maximum length 10,000 words) by May 20, 2022 to
nathalie.magne@univ-montp3.fr. Please, include your institutional affiliation and an abstract, and indicate
clearly on the paper that you wish it to be considered for the Horvat-Vanek prize (the recipient will be requested
to provide a passport or other official evidence of their date of birth in order to receive the prize).