June 25, 2007 (Washington, DC) – A recent article in the Banking and Policy Issues Magazine of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, writer Ronald A. Wirtz talks about the employee ownership phenomenon and recent research into ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) and employee ownership.
The research quoted in the article, some of which was done by The ESOP Association and its affiliated foundation, the Employee Ownership Foundation, demonstrates that employee ownership in America is viable and growing. Also covered in the article is research conducted by Dr. Joseph Blasi and Dr. Douglas Kruse, preeminent researchers at Rutgers University, which shows that approximately 20% of individuals in the US, about 20 million employees, own company stock, a figure that was almost non-existent over 10 years ago.
“As the article points out, there is still much research to be done into the concept of employee ownership and we whole-heartedly support that,” said J. Michael Keeling, President of the Employee Ownership Foundation. “We’ve been saying for years that ESOP companies do better than their non-ESOP counterparts and have workers that are more motivated and productive. There is research out there that proves ESOP companies perform better and we’re glad to see that new research is being done. We need to focus on ownership policies that are beneficial to American workers and especially employee stock ownership plans which are the dominant model for employee ownership in the ever-growing private company sector.”
For information on additional research, please visit The ESOP Association’s website at www.esopassociation.org and click the media link at the top of the page.
To view a copy of the article, please visit the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis at www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/07-06/employee.cfm.
The Employee Ownership Foundation (www.employeeownershipfoundation.org) is The ESOP Association’s affiliated 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting employee ownership. Founded in 1978, The ESOP Association (www.esopassociation.org) is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans and the leading voice for employee ownership in America.
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