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Abstract
This study analyzes some fundamental factors that influence member
willingness to invest in an agricultural cooperative. The relationship between
the selected factors and willingness to invest (a binary variable) is
investigated by probit regression using data from a survey of 122 members
in 9 apple-marketing cooperatives in Shaanxi Province in north-central
China. The investment regression identifies five factors that have a
statistically significant positive effect on members’ willingness to invest in
the cooperative. These factors are members’ perception of self-importance in
the cooperative, the subjective evaluation of difficulties faced in farming
operations and sales, the evaluation of the cooperative’s economic
performance, the evaluation of the cooperative’s ability to deliver services,
and the availability of government support to the cooperative.