Why self-regulation? With the advent of such concepts as design for the environment, industrial ecology, and the recognized enlightened self-interest that voluntary compliance brings, it is in any company's best interest to avoid fines, liabilities, and bad publicity. Consumer concern and pressure from the marketplace give a competitive advantage t

Increasing economic competition combined with the powerful threat of transnational activism are pushing firms to develop new political strategies. Over the past decade a growing number of corporations have adopted policies of industry self-regulation—corporate codes of conduct, social and environmental standards, and auditing and monitoring systems. A Public Role for the Private Sector explores the phenomenon of industry self-regulation through three different cases—environment, labor, and information privacy—where corporate leaders appear to be converging on industry self-regulation as the appropriate response to competing pressures. Political and economic risks, reputational effects, and learning within the business community all influence the adoption of a self-regulatory strategy, but there are wide variations in the strength and character of it across industries and issue areas. Industry self-regulation raises significant questions about the place of the private sector in regulation and governance, and the accountability, legitimacy and power of industry at a time of rapid globalization.

This book examines how markets have evolved and provides insights for improved consumer policy making. It explores, for the first time, how what we have learned through the study of behavioural economics is changing the way policy makers are addressing problems.

The idea of self-regulation as an instrument capable of mitigating socially undesirable practices in industries - such as corruption, environmental degradation, or the violation of human rights - is receiving substantial consideration in theory and practice. By approaching this phenomenon with the theory of the New Institutional Economics, Jan Sammeck develops an analytical approach that points out the critical mechanisms which decide about the effectiveness of this instrument. By integrating theory with practical examples of self-regulation, this study highlights the necessity to look at the institutional incentives of an industry, in order to come to a sound judgement about the feasibility and effectiveness of this instrument in a given situation.

Massive changes are taking place all over the world in redefining the relationship between government, public, and private institutions. Nowhere is this redefinition more urgent than in communications, where widespread privatization and deregulation of telecommunication companies and broadcasters has created a need for new modes of corporate governance in the new global marketplace. In this study, Wolfgang Schulz and Thorsten Held set out to find answers to key questions relating to the changing role of government--especially in regulating the transnational communications industry--and to provide a tool kit for what they call regulated self-regulation applicable across the world.

Evaluates the effectiveness of self-regulation compared to other forms of global regulation. Suggests some minimal forms of government action and participation by global actors that can make global corporate self-regulation more effective in bettering conditions in the developing world.

Every day, societal demand grows for some form of control or supervision over something that appears inherently beyond governance: the Internet. The gulf between community aspiration and the perceived limits on government capacity forces each entity, industry, and regulator to conduct a thorough and painstaking search for an appropriate solution. The resolution to this dilemma requires the innovation of regulatory design for the Internet. Without flexibility and responsiveness, traditional law and regulation cannot adequately address the transnational, intangible, and ever changing Internet space. Attempts at Internet regulation generally have moved away from direct legal control and toward more flexible variations of what can be termed ?self-regulation.? This ground-breaking book by two leading authorities in this new field of law concerns the mushrooming growth of institutions and systems of self-regulation on the Internet. Internet self-regulation involves many issues, including e-commerce, technical protocols, and domain names management, but most public concern and debate has been over illegal and harmful content on the Internet. Self-Regulation and the Internet examines how self-regulatory entities for content relate to other quasi-legal and state institutions, what powers are accorded to or seized by self-regulatory institutions, and how the use of self-regulation can contribute to the more effective and more efficient realization of both economic and societal goals. This book offers: a general and theoretical examination of self-regulation, focusing on codes of conduct; approaches to the methodology and process for adopting such codes; descriptions and evaluations of technical devices as self-regulatory tools; and an analysis of Internet self-regulation in a converged and digital environment. The analysis encompasses a wide spectrum, from technical matters of filters and transmission streams to such important legal issues as the possible meanings of such terms as ?illegal and harmful.? Crucial topics include ISP service agreements, anti-spam measures, regulation of hate speech, digital television, defining a common language for metainformation, and a great deal more. The geographic scope is global, with numerous detailed references to developments in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. The breadth and depth of this analysis, and the vast quantity of information that underpins it, give this book an authoritative preeminence not to be found elsewhere. In the coming years, as the material it examines continues to grow and change in ever more dramatic ways, it will be turned to again and again for its invaluable insights and recommendations.

Regulation is often thought of as an activity that restricts behaviour and prevents the occurrence of certain undesirable activities, but the influence of regulation can also be enabling or facilitative, as when a market could potentially be chaotic if uncontrolled. This Handbook provides a clear and authoritative discussion of the major trends and issues in regulation over the last thirty years, together with an outline of prospective developments. It brings together contributions from leading scholars from a range of disciplines and countries. Each chapter offers a broad overview of key current issues and provides an analysis of different perspectives on those issues. Experiences in different jurisdictions and insights from various disciplines are drawn upon, and particular attention is paid to the challenges that are encountered when specific approaches are applied in practice. Contributors develop their own distinctive arguments relating to the central issues in regulation and apply scholarly rigour and clear writing to matters of high policy-relevance. The essays are original, accessible, and agenda-setting, and the Handbook will be essential reading both to students and researchers and to with regulatory and regulated professionals.

This book transcends current debate on government regulation by lucidly outlining how regulations can be a fruitful combination of persuasion and sanctions. The regulation of business by the United States government is often ineffective despite being more adversarial in tone than in other nations. The authors draw on both empirical studies of regulation from around the world and modern game theory to illustrate innovative solutions to this problem. Their ideas include an argument for the empowerment of private and public interest groups in the regulatory process and a provocative discussion of how the government can support and encourage industry self-regulation.

The ever increasing use of computers, networks and the Internet has led to the need for regulation in the fields of cybercrime, cybersecurity and national security. This SpringerBrief provides insights into the development of self- and co-regulatory approaches to cybercrime and cybersecurity in the multi-stakeholder environment. It highlights the differences concerning the ecosystem of stakeholders involved in each area and covers government supported initiatives to motivate industry to adopt self-regulation. Including a review of the drawbacks of existing forms of public-private collaboration, which can be attributed to a specific area (cybercrime, cybersecurity and national security), it provides some suggestions with regard to the way forward in self- and co-regulation in securing cyberspace.