“Business, Social Policy and Corporate Political Influence in Developing Countries”

UNRISD

13/11/07

“Business, Social Policy and Corporate Political Influence in Developing Countries”

· Session 5 New Social Pacts and Regulatory Politics

ü Agni Kalfagianni, Professor of International Relations at the University of Stuggart: “Private food governance and implication for social sustainability and democratic legitimacy”

It seems that the global food governance is more and more practice by the private sector, and we could especially see an increase of private governance institution.

On the one part, food sector involve many retail concentration and a control product chain from farm to the fork.

On the other part, we could see that the competition between every companies is not only on the price but also on the quality.

Concerning Developing countries, Export oriented on agricultural production.

Businesses depend on the ability of retailers to exercise significant market power (structural and discursive power).

Some examples: Global Food Initiative, Europgap, Food trace, British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standard.

Consequences

Positive consequences are social provisions such as worker welfare included in the standard.

Secondly, we could consider that there are many new opportunities for exportations since we are in a global market.

Then, all these consequences have positive effects for domestic food safety.

Unfortunately, because of concentration, small farmers and retail stores squeezed out of business.

This evolution increase mass rural exodus and unemployment.

Concerning the democratic legitimacy, we could stop on many issues: Question about participation, transparency and accountability for the input.

Moreover, how inclusive the developing countries public on output.

In a deliberative democracy, how fostering inclusiveness and unconstrained dialog?

On his meetings, Agni Kalfagianni uses more questions rather than answers.

ü Paola Perez Aleman, Mc Gill University, Professor of Strategy and Organization: “MNC-NGO Partnerships”

We speak about alliance or partnerships?

On the one part, MNC make resistance to change these business practices.

On the other part, NGO pressure to collaborate with MNC.

MNC and NGO should be working together, because of their active support at the local level, they could create new standards and including those standards in local reality.

For example, MNC-NGO partnership could be effectiveness to bear the coffee crisis.

It permits to achieving upgrading and new norms about costs, affordability, certification challenge, assistance (technical, financial, organizing) and to adapt specific standards for small producers.

We need to standards emerging, to increase public-private networks, norms and principles for coordinating relations between NGO and MNC and finally to upgrade competitiveness.

Damien Afonso