Analytical Examination of How Cooperative Society Type Affects Poverty Reduction Efficiency in South South Nigeria

Different types of cooperative societies, including agricultural, credit, consumer, multipurpose, and producer cooperatives, theoretically offer different mechanisms for poverty reduction, yet comparative empirical evidence on poverty reduction efficiency across cooperative types in South South Nigeria is absent from existing literature. This study analytically examined how cooperative society type affects poverty reduction efficiency in South South Nigeria, using Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River States as research contexts. A comparative analytical design employing matched-pair sampling was adopted. For each of five cooperative types, 30 cooperatives were sampled per state, with 10 member households per cooperative surveyed (total n = 4,500 households). Poverty reduction efficiency was operationalised as the reduction in multidimensional poverty score per 100,000 naira of cooperative capital deployed. ANOVA and meta-regression across cooperative types were applied. Results showed significant type-based differences in poverty reduction efficiency (F = 22.7; p < 0.001). Credit cooperative societies showed the highest poverty reduction efficiency (mean efficiency score 7.2), followed by multipurpose (6.4) and agricultural cooperatives (5.9). Consumer cooperatives showed the lowest efficiency (3.8), attributable to their indirect income linkage. Efficiency was significantly moderated by member financial literacy and cooperative capital size. The study provides the first cross-type comparative poverty reduction efficiency analysis for South South Nigerian cooperatives and recommends type-differentiated policy support strategies aligned with these efficiency findings. Keywords: cooperative types, poverty reduction efficiency, South South Nigeria, multidimensional poverty, comparative analysis