Watson Events

Richard Locke Book Panel -- The Promise and Limits of Private Power

The Promise and Limits of Private Power 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, the 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, Locke illustrates the mix of private and public regulation needed to address these complex issues in a global economy.

Richard M. Locke is deputy dean of the Sloan School of Management and head of the Political Science Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is the incoming director of the Watson Institute, effective July 1, 2013.

With panelists
Mark Blyth, Watson Institute (moderator)
Margaret Levi, University of Washington, Seattle, and University of Sydney
Charles Sabel, Columbia Law School


Location: Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street.