Assistant Director Research

Andrew Mitchell is Professor at Melbourne Law School, Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Director of the Global Economic Law Network. He has published widely and is a Series Editor of the Oxford University Press International Economic Law Series, an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of International Economic Law and a General Editor on the Journal of International Dispute Settlement.

Theme description

This theme addresses three key questions:

  • How do governments, governing institutions and private actors relate to each other, and what can and should be the roles of these actors in the governance of different markets?
  • What policy instruments are available to govern the different sites and spaces of market activity (formal, informal, visible and invisible), from global to local?
  • What is the efficacy and impact of these policy instruments, and how can they be measured and compared?

Globalisation has created serious challenges for the governance of markets, which now often straddle various geographies and legal jurisdictions. As a result, trans- and inter-national rules and institutions (such as the World Trade Organization, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes) have an increasing influence on markets. This theme explores the various ways in which markets have been, are being and could be governed in the future, from the global to local levels, focussing on questions of appropriateness, efficacy, and measurability. It considers the impact of creating, intervening in and managing markets, in relation to a range of policy goals (such as enhancing competition, increasing accessibility, reducing environmental externalities or modifying/enforcing cultural norms).

The theme covers a broad range of fields including competition law and policy, international trade and investment regimes, corporate regulation, eco-markets (such as carbon or water trading), and financial and banking regulation. It analyses formal regimes and institutions established by governments, as well as informal or non-binding mechanisms created by market participants, civil society groups, international institutions or other actors. The theme uses a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach addressing legal, political and economic frameworks to offer innovative new perspectives on market governance.

Related research projects