Abstract Cooperative undertakings account for a substantial share of developed market economies and that share is likely to grow with the advent of the new economy. The paper develops a dynamic investment framework that relates access policies, financing and growth of cooperatives. It shows how discriminating among users affects the viability of cooperatives and impacts social efficiency. It then argues that in most circumstances, the cooperative form, even when viable on a stand-alone basis, is a weak competitor against alternative organizational forms. Last, the paper stresses that access policies involve a standard social trade-off between static efficiency and innovation.