The living standards of the working classes during industrialization continue to be the subject of debate in European historiography. However, other factors closely related to the institutional setting, such as the role played by social economy and the institutions for collective action, are seldom considered. This study focuses on these factors, and attempts to quantify the social impact of consumer cooperatives. We argue that these institutions substantially improved the lot of the working classes from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, helping them to increase their incomes, and access food and services, such as education and social services, which the state did not provide in sufficient measure. To demonstrate this point, we analyse thirty-five consumer cooperatives in Barcelona, an industrial centre in which these organizations were more popular than anywhere else in Spain. Our main conclusion is that consumer cooperatives increased the well-being of their members, helping them to meet their substantial calorific needs, although their diets were unbalanced and low-cost; members improved their income between five and ten per cent, by simply shopping at the institution, and gained access to basic welfare services.

工业化期间工人阶级的生活水平仍然是欧洲史学争论的主题。然而，与制度环境密切相关的其他因素，如社会经济所起的作用和集体行动的制度，却很少被考虑。本研究关注这些因素，并试图量化消费者合作社的社会影响。我们认为，从 19 世纪中叶开始，这些机构极大地改善了工人阶级的命运，帮助他们增加收入，并获得国家没有充分提供的食物和服务，例如教育和社会服务. 为了证明这一点，我们分析了巴塞罗那的 35 个消费者合作社，一个工业中心，这些组织在西班牙比其他任何地方都更受欢迎。我们的主要结论是，消费者合作社提高了成员的福祉，帮助他们满足大量的热量需求，尽管他们的饮食不均衡且成本低；成员只需在该机构购物，收入就提高了 5% 到 10%，并获得了基本福利服务。