Corporations as Private Regulators

43 Pages Posted: 10 Nov 2022 Last revised: 1 Dec 2022

See all articles by Wentong Zheng

Wentong Zheng

University of Florida Levin College of Law

Date Written: October 27, 2022

Abstract

The growing trend of corporations imposing restrictions on suppliers, contractors, and customers beyond the requirements of existing laws requires rethinking the nature and impact of corporations' private regulatory power. This trend, which this Article refers to as "Corporations as Private Regulators" (CPR), represents a paradigmatic shift in how corporations participate in the making of public policies. This Article conceptualizes the corporate CPR power as the exercise of a right of refusal to deal with counterparties. This right of refusal could be theorized as a new form of property right, whose allocation has important implications for both rights and wealth. The Article further explores the possible legal responses to CPR under various approaches, including the status quo approach, the ad hoc approach, the antitrust approach, the general CPR law approach, the property approach, and the constitutional approach. Finally, the Article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the theoretical and practical implications, of each approach. The insights garnered through these inquiries lay the foundation for systematically tackling the CPR power.

Keywords: corporations, corporations as private regulators

Suggested Citation

Zheng, Wentong, Corporations as Private Regulators (October 27, 2022). 55 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 649 (2022), University of Florida Levin College of Law Research Paper 22-36, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4260317

Wentong Zheng (Contact Author)

University of Florida Levin College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 117625
Gainesville, FL 32611-7625
United States
352-273-0936 (Phone)

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
32
Abstract Views
115
PlumX Metrics