Abstract
In recent years, global corporations and national governments have been enacting a growing number of codes of conduct and public regulations to combat dangerous and degrading work conditions in global supply chains. At the receiving end of this activity, local producers must contend with multiple regulatory regimes, but it is unclear how these regimes interact and what results, if any, they produce. This article examines this dynamic in the sugar sector in Brazil. It finds that although private and public agents rarely communicate, let alone coordinate with one another, they nevertheless reinforce each other's actions. Public regulators use their legal powers to outlaw extreme forms of outsourcing. Private auditors use the trust they command as company insiders to instigate a process of workplace transformation that facilitates compliance. Together, their parallel actions block the low road and guide targeted firms to a higher road in which improved labor standards are not only possible but even desirable.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 497-526 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| Journal | Politics and Society |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2013 |
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Keywords
- Brazil
- Global supply chains
- Labor inspectors
- Labor standards
- Private auditors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Sociology and Political Science
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Political Science and International Relations
Cite this
Parallel Paths to Enforcement : Private Compliance, Public Regulation, and Labor Standards in the Brazilian Sugar Sector. / Coslovsky, Salo; Locke, Richard.
In: Politics and Society, Vol. 41, No. 4, 12.2013, p. 497-526.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Parallel Paths to Enforcement
T2 - Private Compliance, Public Regulation, and Labor Standards in the Brazilian Sugar Sector
AU - Coslovsky, Salo
AU - Locke, Richard
PY - 2013/12
Y1 - 2013/12
N2 - In recent years, global corporations and national governments have been enacting a growing number of codes of conduct and public regulations to combat dangerous and degrading work conditions in global supply chains. At the receiving end of this activity, local producers must contend with multiple regulatory regimes, but it is unclear how these regimes interact and what results, if any, they produce. This article examines this dynamic in the sugar sector in Brazil. It finds that although private and public agents rarely communicate, let alone coordinate with one another, they nevertheless reinforce each other's actions. Public regulators use their legal powers to outlaw extreme forms of outsourcing. Private auditors use the trust they command as company insiders to instigate a process of workplace transformation that facilitates compliance. Together, their parallel actions block the low road and guide targeted firms to a higher road in which improved labor standards are not only possible but even desirable.
AB - In recent years, global corporations and national governments have been enacting a growing number of codes of conduct and public regulations to combat dangerous and degrading work conditions in global supply chains. At the receiving end of this activity, local producers must contend with multiple regulatory regimes, but it is unclear how these regimes interact and what results, if any, they produce. This article examines this dynamic in the sugar sector in Brazil. It finds that although private and public agents rarely communicate, let alone coordinate with one another, they nevertheless reinforce each other's actions. Public regulators use their legal powers to outlaw extreme forms of outsourcing. Private auditors use the trust they command as company insiders to instigate a process of workplace transformation that facilitates compliance. Together, their parallel actions block the low road and guide targeted firms to a higher road in which improved labor standards are not only possible but even desirable.
KW - Brazil
KW - Global supply chains
KW - Labor inspectors
KW - Labor standards
KW - Private auditors
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887298926&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84887298926&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0032329213507550
DO - 10.1177/0032329213507550
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84887298926
VL - 41
SP - 497
EP - 526
JO - Politics and Society
JF - Politics and Society
SN - 0032-3292
IS - 4
ER -