The relationship between organization size and performance is widely discussed in relation to companies, yet related discussion of farmer cooperatives is limited. This study maps the membership size distribution of farmer cooperatives in China and explores the effects of membership size on the economic performance of cooperatives. A panel dataset of the census of farmer cooperatives in China from 2014 to 2019 is used for the empirical analyses. First, the Pareto indices of farmer cooperatives' size distribution are calculated, and the results feature the dominance of small cooperatives and the underdevelopment of large cooperatives. Second, membership size has a positive effect on the total profit of cooperatives. Third, the impact of membership size on the profit per member displays an inverted “U” pattern, and the optimal membership size is 19 members. These effects are heterogeneous across product categories and cooperative ages. The robustness of the results is confirmed by alternative key explanatory indicators and estimation methods. [EconLit Citations: Q13, L25].

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to estimate the effect of vegetable producers' inclusiveness in supply chain coordination on vegetable production performance and potential spillover effect on farm and non-farm income.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive dataset comprised of 410 paired vegetable producers in China is applied. Propensity score matching (PSM) estimation method is used to control for the selection bias problem.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that contracting farming does not have significant effect on yield or profit of vegetable production, but promote producers to obtain quality certification. In comparison, cooperative membership has positive effects on the yield, profit and quality certification of producers. Additionally, cooperatives generate positive spillover effects on members' farm and non-farm income, though the results are sensitive to unobserved factors. The inclusion of spillover effects helps to find out the potential unobserved effects which are neglected by most studies and design better policies to promote the development of agricultural companies and farmer cooperatives.Originality/valueFirst, empirical evidence is provided for theories regarding the roles of different supply chain coordination modes on producers. Second, the analysis on evaluating the effects of supply chain coordination also considers the spillover effect on the farming of other products and even non-farm work of involved producers. Third, a unique dataset comprised of 420 paired vegetable producers, based on an extensive survey is built.