This conference explores changes in the institutions of work and employment in various contexts. It seeks a better understanding of experimental practices and policies developed by a range of actors at different levels, and to provide an assessment of their social and economic impact. It also seeks to understand how existing institutions facilitate or hinder change and how and why institutions fade away or prevail over time and in different contexts. A particular focus is on both the development of new practices, norms and mechanisms and on the capabilities and resources that foster capacity building in the regulation of work and employment.

In particular, the conference will explore the following themes (further details in the call for papers):

1. The State, regime competition and policy choices
2. Articulated or disarticulated, connected or disconnected institutions
3. Inclusive and participative institutions
4. Worker organizations and institutional experimentation
5. Multinational companies (MNCs) and Global value chains (GVCs)
6. National institutional arrangements and the social dynamics of work
7. Actors and institutions for regional and sector governance
8. International labour standards
9. Multilateral trade and the emergence of social regionalism