Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-7bb8b95d7b-s9k8s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-09-21T08:21:26.886Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Voluntary Standards, Trade, and Sustainable Development

from Part III - Bottom-Up: Private Sector and Civil Society Initiatives on the Sustainable Development Goals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Matteo Fiorini ,
Hinnerk Gnutzmann ,
Arevik Gnutzmann-Mkrtchyan  and
Bernard Hoekman
Edited by
Cosimo Beverelli ,
Jürgen Kurtz  and
Damian Raess
Cosimo Beverelli
Affiliation:
World Trade Organization
Jürgen Kurtz
Affiliation:
European University Institute, Florence
Damian Raess
Affiliation:
World Trade Institute, University of Bern
Get access

Summary

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) seek to improve social and economic outcomes in developing nations through voluntary commitments by firms located in these countries, who can advertise their adherence to the standard through certification and associated labels. VSS are a potential instrument to help achieve some of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but the current empirical evidence on their effectiveness is mixed. Distinguishing between Fair Trade VSS developed by non-governmental organizations and corporate-backed private VSS, this chapter disentangles the possible channels through which these two types of VSS regimes may impact on trade and, in turn, on SDGs. We review the evidence in the light of these channels, finding important differences between the two categories of VSS.

Keywords

voluntary sustainability standardsprivate standardsfair tradeSustainable Development Goalssupply chains
Type
Chapter
Information
International Trade, Investment, and the Sustainable Development Goals
World Trade Forum
 , pp. 177 - 200
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asfaw, S., Mithöfer, D. and Waibel, H. (2009). ‘Investment in Compliance with GlobalGAP Standards: Does It Pay Off for Small-Scale Producers in Kenya?’ Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 48: 337–362.Google Scholar
Bartley, T. (2018). Rules Without Rights: Land, Labor, and Private Authority in the Global Economy. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackman, A. and Rivera, J. E. (2010). ‘The Evidence Base for Environmental and Socioeconomic Impacts of “Sustainable” Certification’. Available at https://media.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-10-17.pdf.Google Scholar
Bolwig, S., Gibbon, P. and Jones, S. (2009), ‘The Economics of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Tropical Africa’. World Development 37: 1094–1104.Google Scholar
Brandi, C. A. (2016). ‘Sustainability Standards and Sustainable Development: Synergies and Trade‐Offs of Transnational Governance’. Sustainable Development 25: 25–34.Google Scholar
Chiputwa, B. and Qaim, M. (2016). ‘Sustainability Standards, Gender, and Nutrition Among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda’. The Journal of Development Studies 52: 1241–1257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiputwa, B., Spielman, D. J. and Qaim, M. (2015). ‘Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty Among Coffee Farmers in Uganda’. World Development 66: 400–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colen, L., Maertens, M. and Swinnen, J. (2012). ‘Private Standards, Trade and Poverty: GlobalGAP and Horticultural Employment in Senegal’. The World Economy 35 1073–1088.Google Scholar
Craves, J. (2015). ‘Starbucks Claims 99% “Ethically Sourced” Coffee, But What Does That Even Mean?’ Daily Coffee News. Available at https://dailycoffeenews.com/2015/05/15/starbucks-claims-99-ethically-sourced-coffee-but-what-does-that-even-mean/.Google Scholar
Craves, J. (2016). ‘Nespresso AAA Quality Program Guidelines. Coffee and Conservation’. Available at www.coffeehabitat.com/2015/06/nespresso-aaa-guidelines/.Google Scholar
Craves, J. (2018). ‘How Much Eco-certified Coffee Is Purchased by the Big Coffee Companies? Coffee and Conservation. Available at www.coffeehabitat.com/2012/01/market-share-update–2012/.Google Scholar
De Janvry, A., McIntosh, C. and Sadoulet, E. (2015). ‘Fair Trade and Free Entry: Can a Disequilibrium Market Serve as a Development Tool?’ Review of Economics and Statistics 97: 567–573.Google Scholar
Distelhorst, G. and Locke, R. M. (2018). ‘Does Compliance Pay? Social Standards and Firm‐Level Trade’. American Journal of Political Science 62: 695–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dragusanu, R., Giovannucci, D. and Nunn, N. (2014). ‘The Economics of Fair Trade’. Journal of Economic Perspectives 28: 217–236.Google Scholar
Dragusanu, R. and Nunn, N. (2018). ‘The Effects of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence from Coffee Producers in Costa Rica’. NBER Working Paper No. 24260. Available at www.nber.org/papers/w24260 www.nber.org/papers/w24260.Google Scholar
Ethical Consumer. (2017). Markets Report. Available at www.ethicalconsumer.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/ec%20markets%20report%202017.pdf.Google Scholar
Fairtrade International. (2015). Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade: Seventh Edition 2015. Available at http://fairtrade.org.nz/~/media/Fairtrade%20Australasia/Files/Resources%20for%20pages%20-%20Reports%20Standards%20and%20Policies/2015-Fairtrade-Monitoring-Scope-Benefits_web.pdf.Google Scholar
Fairtrade International. (2018). ‘Working Together for Fair and Sustainable Trade: Annual Report 2017–2018’. Available at www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/content/2009/about_us/annual_reports/2017–18_FI_AnnualReport.pdf.Google Scholar
Henson, S., Masakure, O. and Cranfield, J. (2011). ‘Do Fresh Produce Exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa Benefit from GlobalGAP Certification?’ World Development 39: 375–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kersting, S. and Wollni, M. (2011). Public-Private Partnerships and GLOBALGAP Standard Adoption: Evidence from Small-Scale Fruit and Vegetable Farmers in Thailand. In EAAE 2011 Congress: Change and Uncertainty, Challenges for Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. ETH Zurich.Google Scholar
Milford, A. B. (2012). ‘The Pro-Competitive Effect of Coffee Cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico’. Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, 10: 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milford, A. B. (2014). ‘Co-Operative or Coyote? Producers’ Choice Between Intermediary Purchasers and Fairtrade and Organic Co-operatives in Chiapas. Agriculture and Human Values, 31: 577–591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorini, M., Hoekman, B., Jansen, M., Schleifer, P., Solleder, O., Taimasova, R. and Wozniak, J. (2018). ‘Institutional Design of Voluntary Sustainability Standards Systems: Evidence from a New Database’. Development Policy Review, 37: O193–O212.Google Scholar
Lernoud, J., Potts, J., Sampson, G., Schlatter, B., Huppe, G., Voora, V., et al. (2018). The State of Sustainable Markets 2018: Statistics and Emerging Trends. Geneva, Switzerland: International Trade Centre.Google Scholar
Locke, R. M. (2013). The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loconto, A. M. and Dankers, C. (2014). ‘Impact of International Voluntary Standards on Smallholders’ Market Participation in Developing Countries: A Review of the Literature’. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Nelson, V. and Martin, A. (2013). ‘Assessing the Poverty Impact of Sustainability Standards. Department for International Development UK. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08a55e5274a27b2000543/AssessingThePovertyImpactOfSustainabilityStandards.pdf.Google Scholar
Oya, C., Schaefer, F., Skaligou, D., McCosker, C. and Langer, L. (2017), ‘Effects of Certification Schemes for Agricultural Production on Socio-economic Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review’. Campbell Systematic Reviews 2017:3.Google Scholar
Podhorsky, A. (2009). ‘Environmental Labeling’. Working Paper 2009/3, York University. Available at https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/ycawpaper/2009_5f3.htm.Google Scholar
Podhorsky, A. (2015). ‘A Positive Analysis of Fairtrade Certification’. Journal of Development Economics 116: 169–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinecke, J., Manning, S. and Von Hagen, O. (2012). ‘The Emergence of a Standards Market: Multiplicity of Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry’. Organization Studies 33: 791–814.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ronchi, L. (2006). Fairtrade and Market Failures in Agricultural Commodity Markets. Washington, DC: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Ruben, R. and Zuniga, G. (2011). ‘How Standards Compete: Comparative Impact of Coffee Certification Schemes in Northern Nicaragua’. Supply Chain Management 16: 98–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swinnen, J. (2016). ‘Economics and Politics of Food Standards, Trade, and Development’. Agricultural Economics 47: 7–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swinnen, J., Deconinck, K., Vandemoortele, T. and Vandeplas, A. (2015). Quality Standards, Value Chains, and International Development: Economic and Political Theory. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayleur, C., Balmford, A., Buchanan, G. M., Butchart, S. H. M., Corlet Walker, C., Ducharme, H. and Phalan, B. (2018). ‘Where Are Commodity Crops Certified, and What Does It Mean for Conservation and Poverty Alleviation?’ Biological Conservation, 217: 36–46.Google Scholar
Thorstensen, V., Weissinger, R. and Sun, X. (2015). ‘Private Standards: Implications for Trade Development, and Governance, E15Initiative. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and World Economic Forum.Google Scholar
UNFSS. (2018). ‘Voluntary Sustainability Standards, Trade and Sustainable Development’. 3rd Flagship Report of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards. Available at https://unfss.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/UNFSS-3rd-Flagship-Report-FINAL-for-upload.pdf.Google Scholar
UTZ. (2014). ‘Bringing Good Practice to Scale’. Available at https://utz.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Annual-report-2013-UTZ.pdf.Google Scholar
Van Rijsbergen, B., Elbers, W., Ruben, R. and Njuguna, S. N. (2016). ‘The Ambivalent Impact of Coffee Certification on Farmers’ Welfare: A Matched Panel Approach for Cooperatives in Central Kenya’. World Development 77: 277–292.Google Scholar
Willer, H. and Lernoud, J. (2019). The World of Organic Agriculture. Statistics and Emerging Trends 2019 (pp. 1–336). Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL and IFOAM Organics International. Available at https://shop.fibl.org/CHen/mwdownloads/download/link/id/1202/?ref=1.Google Scholar
WTO (World Trade Organization). (2005). World Trade Report 2005. Trade, standards and the WTO. World Trade Organization.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×