Transnational Governance by Contract - Private Regulation and Contractual Networks in Food Safety

25 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2011 Last revised: 20 Dec 2013

Date Written: March 29, 2011

Abstract

Within agri-industry chains, important changes have taken place. Both vertical integration and vertical disintegration are occurring. These transformations may have effects on the adoption of private standards, but more importantly, may also affect the functions of private standards within the chain. I develop a coordinated approach, integrating the value supply chain perspective with regulatory theory to show that co-evolutionary patterns explain the changes in the supply chain and the increasing use of transnational private regulation. I then focus on different inter-firm coordination mechanisms that are, or can be, used in food chains, and propose a wider deployment of contractual networks to improve effectiveness of food safety regulation. I distinguish between contractual networks directed at information production and transfer and contractual networks concerning risk assessment and risk management. I conclude with some policy recommendations.

Keywords: contractual chain, contractual networks, regulation, transnational regulatory regime

Suggested Citation

Cafaggi, Fabrizio, Transnational Governance by Contract - Private Regulation and Contractual Networks in Food Safety (March 29, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1874749 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1874749

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
316
Abstract Views
1,415
Rank
175,064
PlumX Metrics