CENTRAL ISSUES IN THE ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL

RULE MAKING

Frank Vibert

Senior Visiting Fellow

THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

• IN DESCRIBING THE RULE MAKING ENVIRONMENT.

• IN ANALYSING THE TWO KEY ISSUES:

– THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT.– THE FAILURES OF RULE MAKERS.

DESCRIBING THE ENVIRONMENT

• TWO FEATURES TO DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN:

• MULTIPLICITY OF ORGANISATIONAL FORMS.

• MULTIPLICITY OF INSTRUMENT TYPES.

THE MULTIPLICITY OF ORGANISATIONAL FORMS:I

• POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS IN ECONOMICS.

• CLUB CREATION?

• COMPETITION?– DELIBERATE POLICY OF CREATING

SUBSTITUTE FORUMS.

• EMPIRE BUILDING?– (FAVOURS AFFILIATES NOT RIVALS).

THE MULTIPLICITY OF ORGANISATIONAL FORMS: II

• POLITICAL SCIENCE EXPLANATIONS:– NORMS v CLUBS v EXPERT GROUPS.

• SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS:– PROFESSIONS (ABBOTT).– STRUCTURAL HOLES. (BURT).

MULTIPLICITY OF INSTRUMENT TYPES

• POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS IN ECONOMICS:– CREDIBLE COMMITMENT. (GAME THEORY).

• EXPLANATION IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF LAW:– RECONCILING INCLUSIVENESS IN

CONTRACTING (FLEXIBILITY) WITH LAW AS A LAST RESORT IN IMPLEMENTATION.

– GROWTH OF INTERMEDIATE INSTRUMENTS.

ANALYSIS: 1. THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT.

• THE APPROACH OF ECONOMICS.– P/A THEORY.

• THE APPROACH OF POLITICAL SCIENCE:– MULTI LEVEL GOVERNANCE. (FORM).– THE ‘TWO STEP’.

• THE APPROACH OF SOCIOLOGY.– DIFFUSION. (ACTORS, THEIR LOGIC AND

PROCESS).

Treatment of dissent

Approach of economics -secession

Approach of political science- power sharing (consociational)

Approach of law- legal pluralism.

ANALYSIS II: FAILURE

• THE APPROACH OF ECONOMICS.– CAPTURE?– IRRATIONAL GOALS? – ENDS /MEANS IRRATIONALITY (PSYCHOLOGY).

• THE APPROACH OF POLITICAL SCIENCE.– EPISTEMIC ELITES.– SCALE INFLEXIBILITY.

• THE APPROACH OF SOCIOLOGY.– DISPOSITIONS;– THE CORPORATE ANALOGY (EXECUTIVE,

CULTURAL, COGNITIVE).

THE RESIDUAL ROLE OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

• STABILITY OF ARRANGEMENTS. – ECONOMISING ON TRANSACTION COSTS.

• CONVERGENCE ON HYBRID FORMS?– EXPERT/UNIVERSAL– PUBLIC/PRIVATE.

• (the market place for institutions & agreements).

WHY RESIDUAL ROLE???

• ISSUES FOUNDATIONAL (BEHIND THE VEIL OF CONSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS).

• ISSUES OFTEN NORMATIVE.

• THE DIVIDE WITH SOCIOLOGY. (METHODOLOGICAL).

• .

THE FUTURE

• BEHAVIOURAL RESEARCH.

• WORLD CONSTITUTIONALISM