John Hendry
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199268634
- eISBN:
- 9780191708381
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199268634.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy
This chapter charts the historical rise of the business corporation as an increasingly dominant social institution. Its main focus is on the growing power of business in the late 20th century, the ...
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This chapter charts the historical rise of the business corporation as an increasingly dominant social institution. Its main focus is on the growing power of business in the late 20th century, the roots of this power, and the ways in which it has been exercised.Less
This chapter charts the historical rise of the business corporation as an increasingly dominant social institution. Its main focus is on the growing power of business in the late 20th century, the roots of this power, and the ways in which it has been exercised.
Olivier de Schutter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199284627
- eISBN:
- 9780191700316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199284627.003.0016
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter suggests a novel way of considering the human rights responsibilities of transnational corporations (TNCs). The kind of globalization recommended here proposes an enriched understanding ...
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This chapter suggests a novel way of considering the human rights responsibilities of transnational corporations (TNCs). The kind of globalization recommended here proposes an enriched understanding of the obligation of TNCs to respect human rights. In addition, it argues that simply emphasizing certain views of the current situation will bring the understanding closer to this objective: transforming TNCs into instruments for a more humane kind of globalization, one which not only respects the full set of internationally recognized human rights, but which also ensures that they will be further realized, in combination with economic growth. It specifically explores what may be labelled the failings of the micro-analysis approach to include the responsibilities of TNCs towards human rights-driven development. Moreover, some mechanisms which could be applied to move in the direction proposed are determined. Emphasis is placed on the responsibilities of developed states and multilateral lending institutions.Less
This chapter suggests a novel way of considering the human rights responsibilities of transnational corporations (TNCs). The kind of globalization recommended here proposes an enriched understanding of the obligation of TNCs to respect human rights. In addition, it argues that simply emphasizing certain views of the current situation will bring the understanding closer to this objective: transforming TNCs into instruments for a more humane kind of globalization, one which not only respects the full set of internationally recognized human rights, but which also ensures that they will be further realized, in combination with economic growth. It specifically explores what may be labelled the failings of the micro-analysis approach to include the responsibilities of TNCs towards human rights-driven development. Moreover, some mechanisms which could be applied to move in the direction proposed are determined. Emphasis is placed on the responsibilities of developed states and multilateral lending institutions.
Stephen D. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195179354
- eISBN:
- 9780199783779
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179354.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter deals with the definitions and descriptions — many of which are neither self-evident nor universally understood — that articulate the defining characteristics of FDI and MNCs. First, the ...
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This chapter deals with the definitions and descriptions — many of which are neither self-evident nor universally understood — that articulate the defining characteristics of FDI and MNCs. First, the structure, governance, and objectives of the basic corporation — the first stage and underlying persona of an MNC — are spelled out. The next section reviews different terms used to refer to what in this book are dubbed MNCs and explains how these terms emanate from different perceptions of the behavior and management of multinational businesses. The final section specifically defines what constitutes an MNC and what constitutes FDI.Less
This chapter deals with the definitions and descriptions — many of which are neither self-evident nor universally understood — that articulate the defining characteristics of FDI and MNCs. First, the structure, governance, and objectives of the basic corporation — the first stage and underlying persona of an MNC — are spelled out. The next section reviews different terms used to refer to what in this book are dubbed MNCs and explains how these terms emanate from different perceptions of the behavior and management of multinational businesses. The final section specifically defines what constitutes an MNC and what constitutes FDI.
Deepak Nayyar
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199254033
- eISBN:
- 9780191698187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199254033.003.0014
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter considers the institutions, with a focus on the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the World Trade Organisation, to sketch some contours of reform and change necessary ...
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This chapter considers the institutions, with a focus on the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the World Trade Organisation, to sketch some contours of reform and change necessary in the existing system. It then sets out the issues, of emerging significance in the contemporary world, to suggest that there are some missing institutions, which are needed. The issues selected, global macroeconomic management, international financial architecture, transnational corporations, cross-border movements of people, or international public goods and public bads, are illustrative rather than exhaustive. In addition, the chapter explores some important elements of governance, such as structures of representation or decision-making in institutions, international rules or norms, evolution or change in institutions, and the role of the nation state, which are critical for any vision about the future.Less
This chapter considers the institutions, with a focus on the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, and the World Trade Organisation, to sketch some contours of reform and change necessary in the existing system. It then sets out the issues, of emerging significance in the contemporary world, to suggest that there are some missing institutions, which are needed. The issues selected, global macroeconomic management, international financial architecture, transnational corporations, cross-border movements of people, or international public goods and public bads, are illustrative rather than exhaustive. In addition, the chapter explores some important elements of governance, such as structures of representation or decision-making in institutions, international rules or norms, evolution or change in institutions, and the role of the nation state, which are critical for any vision about the future.
Kathryn C. Lavelle
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195174090
- eISBN:
- 9780199835287
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195174097.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter argues that stock exchanges organized in the post-colonial era were created to indigenize a degree of foreign direct investment. Transnational corporations listing shares on exchanges in ...
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This chapter argues that stock exchanges organized in the post-colonial era were created to indigenize a degree of foreign direct investment. Transnational corporations listing shares on exchanges in the developing world sought a quotation for the benefit of local employees and recognition as a truly transnational firm. Generally these listings were expensive and illiquid, and managerial control remained foreign. However, states found them attractive in an era of “anti”-foreign investment since they dampened criticism of foreign investment, and the capital raised usually remained in the country in question.Less
This chapter argues that stock exchanges organized in the post-colonial era were created to indigenize a degree of foreign direct investment. Transnational corporations listing shares on exchanges in the developing world sought a quotation for the benefit of local employees and recognition as a truly transnational firm. Generally these listings were expensive and illiquid, and managerial control remained foreign. However, states found them attractive in an era of “anti”-foreign investment since they dampened criticism of foreign investment, and the capital raised usually remained in the country in question.
Ursula K. Heise
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195335637
- eISBN:
- 9780199869022
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335637.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter, building on Ch. 4, analyzes the representation of local risk scenarios in two American novels that focus on exposure to chemical toxins, Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Richard Powers’s ...
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This chapter, building on Ch. 4, analyzes the representation of local risk scenarios in two American novels that focus on exposure to chemical toxins, Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Richard Powers’s Gain. DeLillo’s novel, which reflects on a wide range of chemical risks from industrial toxins all the way to psychopharmaceuticals, uses postmodern satire to shed light on the difficulties of telling reality apart from cultural perception in the context of ecological and technological hazards. It portrays a “risk society” in Ulrich Beck’s sense in which risk has become part of the fabric of everyday life for ordinary citizens. Powers’s Gain outlines a similar scenario but explores in depth the rise of transnational corporations and global economic networks that give rise to local risks. While his narrative, more so than DeLillo’s, seeks to highlight the way in which the inhabitation of the local is shaped by global forces, it is less successful than DeLillo’s in developing a narrative technique commensurate with this ambition; Powers’s omniscient narration does not allow for the indeterminacies of risk perception that DeLillo translates into narrative form.Less
This chapter, building on Ch. 4, analyzes the representation of local risk scenarios in two American novels that focus on exposure to chemical toxins, Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Richard Powers’s Gain. DeLillo’s novel, which reflects on a wide range of chemical risks from industrial toxins all the way to psychopharmaceuticals, uses postmodern satire to shed light on the difficulties of telling reality apart from cultural perception in the context of ecological and technological hazards. It portrays a “risk society” in Ulrich Beck’s sense in which risk has become part of the fabric of everyday life for ordinary citizens. Powers’s Gain outlines a similar scenario but explores in depth the rise of transnational corporations and global economic networks that give rise to local risks. While his narrative, more so than DeLillo’s, seeks to highlight the way in which the inhabitation of the local is shaped by global forces, it is less successful than DeLillo’s in developing a narrative technique commensurate with this ambition; Powers’s omniscient narration does not allow for the indeterminacies of risk perception that DeLillo translates into narrative form.
Sanjaya Lall
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199254033
- eISBN:
- 9780191698187
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199254033.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter analyses international systems of governance for transnational corporations (TNCs) and for technology transfer in the emerging world. This world provides a very different setting for ...
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This chapter analyses international systems of governance for transnational corporations (TNCs) and for technology transfer in the emerging world. This world provides a very different setting for industrial growth from that of half a century ago, when much of the ‘development strategy’ was launched. Technical change is now more rapid and pervasive, affecting most activities in developing countries. It is shrinking economic distance dramatically, exposing enterprises to intense and immediate competition so far unprecedented in history. Trade plays a much larger role in economic life, and much of it is handled by large transnationals and an increasing proportion of trade and production is integrated across national boundaries under the aegis of the TNC. Technology and direct investment flows are now not subject to much direct regulation at the international level, traditional controls on these flows are one of the casualties of liberalisation and globalisation.Less
This chapter analyses international systems of governance for transnational corporations (TNCs) and for technology transfer in the emerging world. This world provides a very different setting for industrial growth from that of half a century ago, when much of the ‘development strategy’ was launched. Technical change is now more rapid and pervasive, affecting most activities in developing countries. It is shrinking economic distance dramatically, exposing enterprises to intense and immediate competition so far unprecedented in history. Trade plays a much larger role in economic life, and much of it is handled by large transnationals and an increasing proportion of trade and production is integrated across national boundaries under the aegis of the TNC. Technology and direct investment flows are now not subject to much direct regulation at the international level, traditional controls on these flows are one of the casualties of liberalisation and globalisation.
Andreas Heinemann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199588817
- eISBN:
- 9780191725272
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588817.003.0045
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter focuses on the attention which transnational corporations have attracted in public international law over recent decades. The starting point is the world of the Codes of Conduct in the ...
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This chapter focuses on the attention which transnational corporations have attracted in public international law over recent decades. The starting point is the world of the Codes of Conduct in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by the experience with the United Nations (UN) Global Compact in the broader context of Corporate Social Responsibility, and the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights, before a proposal for an International Code on Corporate Responsibility is submitted.Less
This chapter focuses on the attention which transnational corporations have attracted in public international law over recent decades. The starting point is the world of the Codes of Conduct in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by the experience with the United Nations (UN) Global Compact in the broader context of Corporate Social Responsibility, and the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights, before a proposal for an International Code on Corporate Responsibility is submitted.
Joshua Barkan
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816674268
- eISBN:
- 9781452947358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816674268.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter covers the discourses of corporate social responsibility and citizenship as relatively “deterritorialized” and “non-legal” responses to problems of corporate regulation. It explores two ...
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This chapter covers the discourses of corporate social responsibility and citizenship as relatively “deterritorialized” and “non-legal” responses to problems of corporate regulation. It explores two different formulations of responsibility in corporate regulation. The first formulation focuses on responsibility in the context of U.S.-based legal debates over the social and political effects of economic concentration, while the second formulation considers attempts to make transnational corporations behave responsibly through international legal frameworks and voluntary agreements. The chapter concludes with a description of Stephen Hymer’s lecture regarding the inability of private multinational capitalism to provide a world of peace and prosperity.Less
This chapter covers the discourses of corporate social responsibility and citizenship as relatively “deterritorialized” and “non-legal” responses to problems of corporate regulation. It explores two different formulations of responsibility in corporate regulation. The first formulation focuses on responsibility in the context of U.S.-based legal debates over the social and political effects of economic concentration, while the second formulation considers attempts to make transnational corporations behave responsibly through international legal frameworks and voluntary agreements. The chapter concludes with a description of Stephen Hymer’s lecture regarding the inability of private multinational capitalism to provide a world of peace and prosperity.
Deepak Nayyar (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199254033
- eISBN:
- 9780191698187
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199254033.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
It is now more than fifty years since the United Nations (UN) system and the Bretton Woods institutions were created. The world has changed since then, and so have its governance needs in terms of ...
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It is now more than fifty years since the United Nations (UN) system and the Bretton Woods institutions were created. The world has changed since then, and so have its governance needs in terms of institutions and rules. It is time to think about the contours of institutions and governance that would meet the needs of the world economy, and also polity, at least for the first quarter of the 21st century. This book examines the subject in depth by situating it in the wider context of globalisation which has shaped development in the world economy, affected the living conditions of people, and constrained the role of nation states. It explores the international context and the national setting and analyses some issues of emerging significance in the contemporary world, such as global macroeconomic management, transnational corporations, international capital flows, and cross-border movements of people. It also provides a critical evaluation of the existing institutions, in retrospect, with a focus on the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation. It examines how existing rules need to be modified or existing institutions need to be restructured to meet the present and future needs of global governance. Finally, the book explores some important elements of governance which are critical for any vision of the future, suggests some changes in existing institutions, and points to emerging governance needs where new institutions may have to be created.Less
It is now more than fifty years since the United Nations (UN) system and the Bretton Woods institutions were created. The world has changed since then, and so have its governance needs in terms of institutions and rules. It is time to think about the contours of institutions and governance that would meet the needs of the world economy, and also polity, at least for the first quarter of the 21st century. This book examines the subject in depth by situating it in the wider context of globalisation which has shaped development in the world economy, affected the living conditions of people, and constrained the role of nation states. It explores the international context and the national setting and analyses some issues of emerging significance in the contemporary world, such as global macroeconomic management, transnational corporations, international capital flows, and cross-border movements of people. It also provides a critical evaluation of the existing institutions, in retrospect, with a focus on the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation. It examines how existing rules need to be modified or existing institutions need to be restructured to meet the present and future needs of global governance. Finally, the book explores some important elements of governance which are critical for any vision of the future, suggests some changes in existing institutions, and points to emerging governance needs where new institutions may have to be created.
Harry Arthurs
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199271818
- eISBN:
- 9780191699542
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199271818.003.0025
- Subject:
- Law, Employment Law
This chapter assesses the value of a corporate code of conduct as a mechanism for ensuring fair labour standards. It extends the frontiers of labour regulation to embrace what is essentially a ...
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This chapter assesses the value of a corporate code of conduct as a mechanism for ensuring fair labour standards. It extends the frontiers of labour regulation to embrace what is essentially a private international mechanism, although it is candid in assessing the difficulties thereby posed. Voluntary codes are emerging as the most significant feature of a fragile, inchoate regime of transnational labour market regulation. Employers are supposed to be the object of that regulation, but they are also its primary authors and administrators; they can conjure it up or make it disappear pretty much whenever and for whatever reason they wish. But workers — supposedly the beneficiaries of this regulation — lack the power to create it, significantly to influence its terms, or even to insist that they receive its promised benefits. They can only denounce it and try to rob it of its legitimacy.Less
This chapter assesses the value of a corporate code of conduct as a mechanism for ensuring fair labour standards. It extends the frontiers of labour regulation to embrace what is essentially a private international mechanism, although it is candid in assessing the difficulties thereby posed. Voluntary codes are emerging as the most significant feature of a fragile, inchoate regime of transnational labour market regulation. Employers are supposed to be the object of that regulation, but they are also its primary authors and administrators; they can conjure it up or make it disappear pretty much whenever and for whatever reason they wish. But workers — supposedly the beneficiaries of this regulation — lack the power to create it, significantly to influence its terms, or even to insist that they receive its promised benefits. They can only denounce it and try to rob it of its legitimacy.
Upendra Baxi
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195690439
- eISBN:
- 9780199081059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195690439.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the ...
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This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights paradigm in relation to corporate governance and business conduct. This reassertion is articulated under the very auspices of the United Nations system, which otherwise fosters contemporaneously, and assiduously, the trade-related market-friendly paradigm of human rights. This chapter focuses on the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, formulated by a Working Group of five independent experts. It explores five related themes: the dense intertextuality of the Norms and the Commentary; the ‘network’ conception of corporate governance and business conduct; ways of categorizing the range of general and specific obligations; strategies of implementation; and business ethics in relation to human rights.Less
This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights paradigm in relation to corporate governance and business conduct. This reassertion is articulated under the very auspices of the United Nations system, which otherwise fosters contemporaneously, and assiduously, the trade-related market-friendly paradigm of human rights. This chapter focuses on the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, formulated by a Working Group of five independent experts. It explores five related themes: the dense intertextuality of the Norms and the Commentary; the ‘network’ conception of corporate governance and business conduct; ways of categorizing the range of general and specific obligations; strategies of implementation; and business ethics in relation to human rights.
Moshe Hirsch
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199578184
- eISBN:
- 9780191722561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199578184.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter identifies common traits as well as basically different characteristics of international human rights and investment laws. Developments in both spheres reflect fundamental structural ...
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This chapter identifies common traits as well as basically different characteristics of international human rights and investment laws. Developments in both spheres reflect fundamental structural changes in international law since World War II, enhancing the legal protection of individuals as well as of various associations and legal persons that are active in these spheres. One of the most fundamental commonalities to both international human rights and investment law is the asymmetric legal relationship between sovereign states and individuals, including foreign investors. Consequently, legal rules and institutions developed in these spheres strive to compensate the inferior position of individuals and investors under the domestic law by enhancing legal protection at the international level. These two branches of international law have evolved differently along the private-public divide. The chapter discusses the case law of international investment tribunals that have encountered arguments regarding the applicability and relevance of international human rights law to investment disputes.Less
This chapter identifies common traits as well as basically different characteristics of international human rights and investment laws. Developments in both spheres reflect fundamental structural changes in international law since World War II, enhancing the legal protection of individuals as well as of various associations and legal persons that are active in these spheres. One of the most fundamental commonalities to both international human rights and investment law is the asymmetric legal relationship between sovereign states and individuals, including foreign investors. Consequently, legal rules and institutions developed in these spheres strive to compensate the inferior position of individuals and investors under the domestic law by enhancing legal protection at the international level. These two branches of international law have evolved differently along the private-public divide. The chapter discusses the case law of international investment tribunals that have encountered arguments regarding the applicability and relevance of international human rights law to investment disputes.
Duncan Green
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198785392
- eISBN:
- 9780191833236
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198785392.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Public and Welfare
This chapter focuses on transnational corporations (TNCs), not only as economic heavyweights, but also as influential players in political and social change. It traces the origins of the modern TNC ...
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This chapter focuses on transnational corporations (TNCs), not only as economic heavyweights, but also as influential players in political and social change. It traces the origins of the modern TNC to the East India Company, which was established in 1600 and grew to become a trading empire that encircled the globe. The chapter next looks at the ways in which TNCs drive change, arguing that they do so both through their normal business operations, and through their behaviour as political players. The world of TNCs is seething with expressions of power, hidden in their political connections, and invisible in the extraordinary influence on consumers exerted by brands and the values they claim to embody, as well as the apparently mesmerizing authority of giant corporations in the eyes of policy makers. With this in mind, the chapter also discusses the ways in which activists can in turn influence TNCs.Less
This chapter focuses on transnational corporations (TNCs), not only as economic heavyweights, but also as influential players in political and social change. It traces the origins of the modern TNC to the East India Company, which was established in 1600 and grew to become a trading empire that encircled the globe. The chapter next looks at the ways in which TNCs drive change, arguing that they do so both through their normal business operations, and through their behaviour as political players. The world of TNCs is seething with expressions of power, hidden in their political connections, and invisible in the extraordinary influence on consumers exerted by brands and the values they claim to embody, as well as the apparently mesmerizing authority of giant corporations in the eyes of policy makers. With this in mind, the chapter also discusses the ways in which activists can in turn influence TNCs.
Alexander Gillespie
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198819516
- eISBN:
- 9780191859960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198819516.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The economic and social challenges of the twenty-first century in the quest for sustainable development are multiple. On the positive side, good progress was achieved in setting clear targets and the ...
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The economic and social challenges of the twenty-first century in the quest for sustainable development are multiple. On the positive side, good progress was achieved in setting clear targets and the results that eventually came with them. Human longevity, poverty reduction, overseas development assistance, and the fight against corruption all show progress. In other areas, the future is less certain. Some tools, including free trade, have reached unprecedented heights in creating economic growth. Ensuring that this is always a tool for good, by avoiding damaging subsidies, for example is necessary. An equally big challenge for free trade is ensuring that distributions of benefits are more equitable. The challenge will also be in accepting that although voluntary measures, ranging from those for ethical consumers through to those for responsible corporations, are commendable and can produce good results in some instances, there are limits to how far voluntary approaches may go.Less
The economic and social challenges of the twenty-first century in the quest for sustainable development are multiple. On the positive side, good progress was achieved in setting clear targets and the results that eventually came with them. Human longevity, poverty reduction, overseas development assistance, and the fight against corruption all show progress. In other areas, the future is less certain. Some tools, including free trade, have reached unprecedented heights in creating economic growth. Ensuring that this is always a tool for good, by avoiding damaging subsidies, for example is necessary. An equally big challenge for free trade is ensuring that distributions of benefits are more equitable. The challenge will also be in accepting that although voluntary measures, ranging from those for ethical consumers through to those for responsible corporations, are commendable and can produce good results in some instances, there are limits to how far voluntary approaches may go.
Jamie K. McCallum
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451935
- eISBN:
- 9780801469480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451935.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Occupations, Professions, and Work
This chapter focuses on the Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) comprehensive campaign strategy to engage transnational corporations, i.e. negotiating with European CEOs, rather than ...
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This chapter focuses on the Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) comprehensive campaign strategy to engage transnational corporations, i.e. negotiating with European CEOs, rather than organizing European workers. This strategy involves heavy lifting for union staff, a large budget, and dedicated researchers in the hopes that it will provide more fertile ground for worker organizing. The chapter also explores this method as it was employed against Group 4 Securicor (G4S), particularly the ways in which an alliance of unions was able to undermine the company's aggressive antiunionism. It discusses how SEIU organized security guards in the United States, as well as the complex expansion of their campaign to multiple countries.Less
This chapter focuses on the Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) comprehensive campaign strategy to engage transnational corporations, i.e. negotiating with European CEOs, rather than organizing European workers. This strategy involves heavy lifting for union staff, a large budget, and dedicated researchers in the hopes that it will provide more fertile ground for worker organizing. The chapter also explores this method as it was employed against Group 4 Securicor (G4S), particularly the ways in which an alliance of unions was able to undermine the company's aggressive antiunionism. It discusses how SEIU organized security guards in the United States, as well as the complex expansion of their campaign to multiple countries.
Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Yogan Pillay, and Timothy H. Holtz
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199392285
- eISBN:
- 9780199392315
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199392285.003.0009
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Epidemiology
This chapter examines the pathways that tie the neoliberal phase of global capitalism to patterns of health and illness. It explores the phases of financial liberalization and the health impact of ...
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This chapter examines the pathways that tie the neoliberal phase of global capitalism to patterns of health and illness. It explores the phases of financial liberalization and the health impact of structural adjustment programs in LMICs following the 1980s debt crisis, as well as the austerity agenda in HICs since the 2008 onset of global financial and economic crises. It discusses the: World Trade Organization and the contemporary trade and investment regime; influence of corporate interests on new bilateral and regional agreements; implications of illicit financial flows for foregone social spending on health, and impact of transnational corporations on health, work conditions, and human rights. Also analyzed are the effects of neoliberal globalization on labor markets in terms of outsourced, precarious, and hazardous employment and the ratcheting down of labor standards and occupational safety and health. The final section highlights ongoing government resistance and social struggles against neoliberal globalization.Less
This chapter examines the pathways that tie the neoliberal phase of global capitalism to patterns of health and illness. It explores the phases of financial liberalization and the health impact of structural adjustment programs in LMICs following the 1980s debt crisis, as well as the austerity agenda in HICs since the 2008 onset of global financial and economic crises. It discusses the: World Trade Organization and the contemporary trade and investment regime; influence of corporate interests on new bilateral and regional agreements; implications of illicit financial flows for foregone social spending on health, and impact of transnational corporations on health, work conditions, and human rights. Also analyzed are the effects of neoliberal globalization on labor markets in terms of outsourced, precarious, and hazardous employment and the ratcheting down of labor standards and occupational safety and health. The final section highlights ongoing government resistance and social struggles against neoliberal globalization.
Steffanie Scott, Peter Vandergeest, and Mary Young
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262012751
- eISBN:
- 9780262255509
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262012751.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
This chapter examines the certification standards for “green” foods in Southeast Asia. It highlights the role of transnational corporations in setting and enforcing standards that are required for ...
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This chapter examines the certification standards for “green” foods in Southeast Asia. It highlights the role of transnational corporations in setting and enforcing standards that are required for local firms to export organic foods from this region to international markets, and their discursive power in framing “organics” as a key marketing point for Western markets. The chapter also describes the complex relations of transnational corporations with other actors such as the state, aid agencies, and farmers’ associations in the context of the fast-growing international market for organic foods.Less
This chapter examines the certification standards for “green” foods in Southeast Asia. It highlights the role of transnational corporations in setting and enforcing standards that are required for local firms to export organic foods from this region to international markets, and their discursive power in framing “organics” as a key marketing point for Western markets. The chapter also describes the complex relations of transnational corporations with other actors such as the state, aid agencies, and farmers’ associations in the context of the fast-growing international market for organic foods.
Ximena Rueda and Eric F. Lambin
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199354054
- eISBN:
- 9780199398959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199354054.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
Although most gains in food production during the past half-century have come from
agricultural intensification, natural ecosystem conversion has also been rapid,
leading to the oft-cited trade-off ...
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Although most gains in food production during the past half-century have come from
agricultural intensification, natural ecosystem conversion has also been rapid,
leading to the oft-cited trade-off between food security and nature conservation. This chapter traces the effects of economic globalization on the geography of global
agriculture, and show that the real trade-off is between ensuring food security for
the poor and meeting growing demands for agricultural products in middle- and
high-income countries. Areas allocated to non-staple food crops and to crops that
supply animal feeds and bioenergy have recently grown much faster than areas allocated
to staple crops. Supply chains have become increasingly concentrated within the
agribusiness sector in a few countries or under the control of a few large
transnational corporations. This new configuration has done little to improve global
food security; instead, it has mostly benefited consumers in wealthy, urban regions
and emerging economies.Less
Although most gains in food production during the past half-century have come from
agricultural intensification, natural ecosystem conversion has also been rapid,
leading to the oft-cited trade-off between food security and nature conservation. This chapter traces the effects of economic globalization on the geography of global
agriculture, and show that the real trade-off is between ensuring food security for
the poor and meeting growing demands for agricultural products in middle- and
high-income countries. Areas allocated to non-staple food crops and to crops that
supply animal feeds and bioenergy have recently grown much faster than areas allocated
to staple crops. Supply chains have become increasingly concentrated within the
agribusiness sector in a few countries or under the control of a few large
transnational corporations. This new configuration has done little to improve global
food security; instead, it has mostly benefited consumers in wealthy, urban regions
and emerging economies.
Alexander Gillespie
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198819516
- eISBN:
- 9780191859960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198819516.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
The 1990s were very significant for the idea of sustainable development. This was the decade in which much of the ideological rhetoric which had marred a common view during most of the twentieth ...
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The 1990s were very significant for the idea of sustainable development. This was the decade in which much of the ideological rhetoric which had marred a common view during most of the twentieth century subsided. The big push was towards free markets, minimal international restraints on transnational corporations, and free trade. On the environmental side, great progress was made in the formation of many new agreements and understandings, covering everything from population growth, to climate change, to ocean and air pollution. The difficultly that stretched across all areas, apart from the continual failure to control habitat loss effectively, was in implementing the new promises, as either the sources, constituents, or responsibilities were transformed into brand new types of difficulties that were fundamentally different to those which had gradually emerged during the previous century.Less
The 1990s were very significant for the idea of sustainable development. This was the decade in which much of the ideological rhetoric which had marred a common view during most of the twentieth century subsided. The big push was towards free markets, minimal international restraints on transnational corporations, and free trade. On the environmental side, great progress was made in the formation of many new agreements and understandings, covering everything from population growth, to climate change, to ocean and air pollution. The difficultly that stretched across all areas, apart from the continual failure to control habitat loss effectively, was in implementing the new promises, as either the sources, constituents, or responsibilities were transformed into brand new types of difficulties that were fundamentally different to those which had gradually emerged during the previous century.
