Ngaire Woods on self-regulation

On the 5th March 2007, Dr. Ngaire Woods, University of Oxford, presented a talk on "Does Self Regulation ever work?". Although volumes have been written about corporate social responsibility and self-regulation, and scholars have described extensively the rising participation of firms in codes of conduct and related schemes, the question remains: on what grounds do we believe that self-regulation might alter the operational practices of firms? Dr Woods considered evidence from other self-regulatory schemes, including inter-governmental schemes, highlighting some of the pre-conditions necessary for self regulation to have any effect.

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Ngaire Woods was educated at Auckland University (BA in economics, LLB Hons in law). She studied at Balliol College, Oxford as a New Zealand Rhodes Scholarship completing an M.Phil in International Relations (with Distinction) and D.Phil. She won a Junior Research Fellowship at New College, Oxford (1990-1992) and subsequently taught at Harvard University (Government Department) before taking up her Fellowship at University College, Oxford. She teaches International Relations (with a particular focus on international economic institutions) to undergraduates and graduates at Oxford and -directs a research programme investigating how global institutions could better respond to the needs of developing countries - the Global Economic Governance Programme (www.globaleconomicgovernance.org).