Regulating labour standards via supply chains: Combining public/private interventions to improve workplace compliance

Abstract

Concern over global labour standards has led to a profusion of non-governmental forms of regulation. Systematic evaluation of these systems has been very limited to date. This article empirically explores an innovative system to regulate labour standards in the US garment industry combining public enforcement power and private monitoring, thereby drawing on different elements of global labour standards systems. We examine the impact of this system over time and in two distinct markets on employer compliance with minimum wage laws and find that these initiatives are associated with substantial reductions in minimum wage violations. The system therefore offers a useful model for international labour standards regulatory systems. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2007.