According to the United Nations, the cooperative model is a vitally important pilar of development in many communities, countries and regions around the world. Although it is common to infer that there is a direct relationship between cooperativism and socioeconomic development in the regions, there are very few studies that look at this from an economic point of view. This article therefore presents the main findings that emerged from the use of economic theory and econometric techniques to measure the relationship. The empirical analysis is conducted based on a cross-section of data for the country’s 81 cantons, and seeks to open a new line of research that will allow the cooperative sector’s contribution to Costa Rican development to be measured, and build new thinking about the development of this sector in Costa Rica.