Richard M. Locke - Böcker

"Backward," "corrupt," and "clientelistic" are adjectives often used to describe Italy's political economy. In the late 1980s, however, Italy outperformed some neighbor states considered more efficient and stable. Richard M. Locke resolves the apparent contradiction between these contrasting views of Italy as he reconstructs the failures of state reform initiatives as well as the successes of industrial change in key sectors. In the process, he maps out a new micro-political approach to comparative political economy.Locke analyzes Italy's economy, not as a coherent national system, but as a composite of heterogeneous entrepreneurial patterns. The characteristics of these diverse local economies shape the strategic choices of economic actors, he maintains, and help explain how divergent patterns of dynamism and decline can coexist within the same country.

This book examines and evaluates various private initiatives to enforce fair labor standards within global supply chains. Using unique data (internal audit reports and access to more than 120 supply chain factories and 700 interviews in 14 countries) from several major global brands, including NIKE, HP and the International Labor Organization's Factory Improvement Programme in Vietnam, this book examines both the promise and the limitations of different approaches to actually improve working conditions, wages and working hours for the millions of workers employed in today's global supply chains. Through a careful, empirically grounded analysis of these programs, this book illustrates the mix of private and public regulation needed to address these complex issues in a global economy.