The Global Diffusion of Regulatory Capitalism

Abstract

This article analyzes the rise and diffusion of the new order of regulatory capitalism. It offers an analytical and historical analysis of relations between capitalism and regulation and suggests that change in the governance of capitalist economy is best captured by reference to (1) a new division of labor between state and society (e.g., privatization), (2) an increase in delegation, (3) proliferation of new technologies of regulation, (4) formalization of interinstitutional and intrainstitutional arrangements of regulation, and (5) growth in the influence of experts in general, and of international networks of experts in particular. Regulation, though not necessarily directly by the state, seems to be on the increase despite efforts to redraw the boundaries between state and society.