Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Politicized Enforcement in Argentina

Politicized Enforcement in Argentina

Politicized Enforcement in Argentina

Labor and Environmental Regulation
Matthew Amengual, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 2018
Available
Paperback
9781107595132

    Countries throughout the world have passed regulations that promise protection for workers and the environment, but violations of these policies are more common than compliance. All too often, limitations of state capacity and political will intertwine, hindering enforcement. Why do states enforce regulations in some places, and in some industries, but not in others? In Politicized Enforcement in Argentina, Amengual develops a framework for analyzing enforcement in middle-income and developing countries, showing how informal linkages between state officials and groups within society allow officials to gain the operational resources and political support necessary for enforcement. This analysis builds on state-society approaches in comparative politics, but in contrast to theories that emphasize state autonomy, it focuses on key differences in the way states are porous to political influence.

    • The research focuses on policy implementation, rather than adoption
    • A novel account of state-society relations
    • Provides a detailed description of labor and environmental regulation in practice

    Reviews & endorsements

    'This is a breathtakingly original book that combines theoretical innovation with meticulous fieldwork. Amengual's argument also has important policy implications because it shows that there are multiple pathways to enforcement.' Teri L. Caraway, The Journal of Politics

    'Amengual’s empirical work is remarkable, both in his research design and in the breadth and depth of his fieldwork. … [It] challenges much of the conventional wisdom of the field, especially among scholars who study - and very often tend to idealize - the role of Weberian bureaucracies and civil society organizations in development.' Latin American Politics and Society

    '[The book] sets an exciting and ambitious agenda for future scholarship, which will need to probe more deeply, across countries and policy areas, into how state and society interact not simply in the production of laws and regulation but also in their enforcement. And beyond scholars, Politicized Enforcement in Argentina is likely to have significant impact for policy practitioners … with its insights on how enforcement emerges through linkages and resource mobilization.' Matthew Carnes, ILR Review

    ‘… a detailed snapshot of how labor legislation was put into practice during Argentina’s Pink Tide.’ Alejandra González Jiménez, Latin American Research Review

    See more reviews

    Product details

    September 2016
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9781316540800
    0 pages
    0kg
    13 tables
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Introduction. the challenge of enforcement
    • 2. Explaining enforcement of labor and environmental regulations
    • Part I. Labor Regulation:
    • 3. Labor regulation in Argentina
    • 4. Enforcement with unions in the driver's seat
    • 5. State-driven and co-produced enforcement in labor regulation
    • Part II. Environmental Regulation:
    • 6. Chaotic environmental regulation in Argentina
    • 7. Putting out fires in Santa Fe and Córdoba
    • 8. Pollution in the 'garden of the republic'
    • 9. Conclusion
    • Appendix. List of interviews in Argentina.
      Author
    • Matthew Amengual , Massachusetts Institute of Technology

      Matthew Amengual is an assistant professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is affiliated with the Institute for Work and Employment Research (IWER) and the Sustainability Initiative. His research on labor and environmental politics has been published in Politics and Society, World Development, Industrial and Labor Relations Review and Desarrollo Económico.