It's The Economy, Stupid: Economics for Voters

by Vicky Pryce

As a result we have seen a clamour for different ownership structures that would, it is thought, inevitably lead to more long-termism. John Lewis workers’ shared ownership has certain attractions, as do partnerships where the owners are also the managers, or other structures such as mutuals. But that didn’t stop Arthur Andersen, the accountancy firm run as a partnership, from collapsing after being embroiled in the Enron scandal in 2001, while the problems recently faced by the Co-op bank, whose major attraction was meant to be the ability to better combine business with ethics, have all cast doubt on whether alternative ownership models are sustainable in the long term. What’s more, the ability to raise capital under these ownership models is generally more limited and that tends to constrain growth prospects.