Regulatory capitalism and the reassertion of the public interest

Abstract

Neoliberalism has not led to the retreat of the state but instead to the restructuring of the state. This has led to new forms of governance where regulation represents the expanding part of government, and where the various modes of governance compete and sometimes are synthesized into global forms of regulation. It will be discussed where such forms have emerged, and where they are yet to emerge. In this new order, best described as regulatory capitalism, the regulatory state meets the regulatory society and actors' demand for and supply of regulation is ever expanding. Rule-making, monitoring and enforcement are becoming increasingly important for democratic policy making. It is being asserted that varieties of regulatory capitalism are produced by the interaction of varying degrees of civil-and state-regulation and variations in the composition of the networks that serve as the backbone that transform autonomous jurisdictions to interdependent ones. Accordingly the paper distinguishes between Corporatists, Pluralist, Command & Control and Laissez-Faire forms of regulatory capitalism.

Civil Governance in Work and Employment Relations: How Civil Society Organizations Contribute to Systems of Labour Governance

“…We use this article to advance a broader approach to understanding how CSOs influence the policies and practices of employers, centred upon the concept of civil governance. This captures the way in which CSO interventions form part of the 'regulatory state' (Levi-Faur 2009), and is consistent with the increasingly prominent 'political' perspective on corporate social responsibility (CSR) which views it as a mode of governance (e.g. Baur and Schmitz 2012;Scherer and Palazzo 2011).…”

“…Ayres and Braithwaite 1992;Braithwaite 2008;Grabosky 1995Grabosky , 2013Levi-Faur 2009). There has also been an increasing concern about the need to make use of the tools and concepts derived from the literature on regulation in the field of business ethics, as the foundation of a 'regulatory approach' to business ethics (Norman 2011).…”

“…New and more complex governance arrangements involve non-state actors such as CSOs (e.g. Grabosky 2013;Levi-Faur 2009Reed 2012), who play a larger part in regulating aspects of economic and social life, as part of broader 'regulatory networks' (Levi-Faur 2009). From this perspective, efforts by non-state actors such as CSOs to influence business policy and practice constitute an 'alternative, complementary and innovative form of regulatory governance' (LeviFaur 2009, p. 189), operating in relation to the state.…”

The emerging regime of civil regulation in work and employment relations

“…Civil society actors attempt to influence employers by drawing on, and using, legislation and other state policy interventions for their legitimacy. Within individual nation-states the relationship between civil regulation and state regulation is both closer and rather more subtle than hitherto acknowledged, in a way that goes beyond simply seeing them as operating 'in tandem' (Levi-Faur, 2009). Efforts by civil society organizations to regulate employment relationships therefore complement governmental efforts to secure explicit corporate social responsibility initiatives through voluntary employer action (Matten and Moon, 2008).…”

“…Matten and Moon (2008) suggest that strong isomorphic pressures exist in Europe, largely emanating from governments, that have driven the growth of explicit CSR policies. Civil regulation is claimed to operate 'in tandem' with state regulation, rather than supplant it (Levi-Faur, 2009).…”