An analytical framework for employment regulation: investigating the regulatory space

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance a conceptual analytical framework to help explain employment regulation as a dynamic process shaped by institutions and actors. The paper builds on and advances regulatory space theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyses the literature on regulatory theory and engages with its theoretical development.

Findings

The paper advances the case for a broader and more inclusive regulatory approach to better capture the complex reality of employment regulation. Further, the paper engages in debates about the complexity of employment regulation by adopting a multi-level perspective.

Research limitations/implications

The research proposes an analytical framework and invites future empirical investigation.

Originality/value

The paper contends that existing literature affords too much attention to a (false) regulation vs deregulation dichotomy, with insufficient analysis of other “spaces” in which labour policy and regulation are formed and re-formed. In particular, the proposed framework analyses four different regulatory dimensions, combining the legal aspects of regulation with self-regulatory dimensions of employment regulation.

Citation

Inversi, C., Buckley, L.A. and Dundon, T. (2017), "An analytical framework for employment regulation: investigating the regulatory space", Employee Relations, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2016-0021