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Capabilities, Spontaneous Order, And Social Rights

Author

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  • Simon Deakin
  • Frank Wilkinson

Abstract

This paper explores the legal and normative implications of the idea that the labour market is a spontaneous order or self-organising system which rests on set of mutually-reinforcing conventions which are themselves the outcome of an evolutionary process. It is suggested that the role of self-enforcing norms and conventions cannot be separated from that of more formal mechanisms of legal regulation and intervention (judicial decisions, legislation, collective self-regulation). These formal mechanisms can operate to change the 'architecture' or parameters within which the conventions of the market evolve, and in so doing can influence the path of social and economic development. In this vein, it is suggested social rights, far from being inimical to the effective functioning of the labour market, are actually at the core of a labour market in which the resources available to society, in the form of the potential labour power of its members, are fully realised. Social rights should be understood as institutionalised forms of capabilities which provide individuals with the means to realise the potential of their resource endowments and thereby achieve a higher level of economic functioning.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Deakin & Frank Wilkinson, 2000. "Capabilities, Spontaneous Order, And Social Rights," Working Papers wp174, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cbr:cbrwps:wp174
    Note: PRO-2
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    File URL: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/cbrwp174/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Humphries, Jane, 1977. "Class Struggle and the Persistence of the Working-Class Family," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 1(3), pages 241-258, September.
    2. Brown, William & Deakin, Simon & Ryan, Paul, 1997. "The Effects of British Industrial Relations Legislation 1979-97," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 161, pages 69-83, July.
    3. H. Peyton Young, 1996. "The Economics of Convention," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 105-122, Spring.
    4. Lessig, Lawrence, 1998. "The New Chicago School," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(2), pages 661-691, June.
    5. repec:sae:niesru:v:161:y::i:1:p:69-83 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. William M. Dugger, 1996. "The Mechanisms of Governance," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(4), pages 1212-1216, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Colm McLaughlin, 2009. "The Productivity‐Enhancing Impacts of the Minimum Wage: Lessons from Denmark and New Zealand," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 327-348, June.
    2. Colm McLaughlin, 2007. "The productivity enhancing Impacts of the Minimum Wage: Lessons from Denmark, New Zealand and Ireland," Working Papers wp342, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    capabilities; spontaneous order; employment legislation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

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