ABSTRACT
One mechanism by which governments can leverage corporate responsibility for labour standards without using mandatory legal regulation is through public procurement: making government purchases of goods and services conditional upon contractors and supply chains observing desired labour practices linked to job quality criteria. The potential impact of government procurement as a mechanism for improving job quality and alleviating poverty is the focus of this chapter. This chapter will examine various instances in which developed countries are linking procurement with supply-chain governance mechanisms in order to reach suppliers in developing countries with lower living standards. This chapter adopts a broad understanding of regulation, The focus of this chapter is on the role of the nation state in regulating labour standards. Before examining the way in which procurement is used to regulate labour practices, it is first necessary to consider some of the different forms and geographies of procurement, as well as how it might be used to achieve social objectives. However, in the jurisdictions examined for the purpose of this chapter, including Australia, the United States and the UK, it is apparent that where social criteria are incorporated into public procurement, this is often achieved through administrative action and contract rather than through legislation. However, as discussed in the following section of the chapter, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the impact of these policies. This chapter has outlined several ways in which government procurement can be used to achieve better labour standards and alleviate poverty in developing countries.
