Featuring an empirical based approach, this book offers a multidisciplinary analysis on the foundations of international standard-setting. Contributors expertly examine the peculiarities of international standardisation and shed light on the attributes of international standard-setters, allowing comparisons among standard-setting bodies and identifying best practices to improve our understanding about standardisation processes.

Continuity and change in international standardisation Panagiotis Delimatsis; Part I. International Standard-Setting: A Multifaceted and Evolving Area of Research: 1. Standardisation: a developing field of research Henk de Vries; 2. ISO standards and authoritative collective action: conceptual and normative issues Hans Lindahl; 3. From standards to quality infrastructure: a review of impact studies and an outlook Knut Blind; Part II. International Standardisation and the World Trade Organization (WTO): 4. Global food safety standards: the evolving regulatory epistemology at the intersection of the SPS Agreement and the Codex Alimentarius Commission Alessandra Arcuri; 5. 'Relevant international standards' and 'recognised standardisation bodies' under the TBT Agreement Panagiotis Delimatsis; 6. Technical standard-setting in the financial sector Juan Marchetti; 7. Standardizing trade in services? Petros C. Mavroidis; Part III. The Politics and Dynamics of International and Regional Standardisation: 8. The power of the penholder: the missing politics in global regulatory governance analysis Walter Mattli and Jack Seddon; 9. Between standards and regulation: on the concept of 'de facto mandatory standards' after Tuna II and Fra.bo Harm Schepel; 10. Competition and cooperation in the market of voluntary sustainability standards Axel Marx and Jan Wouters; 11. Harmonizing non-tariff measures: always a blessing? Olivier Cadot, Anne-Celia Disdier and Lionel Fontagné; Part IV. International Standardisation and Development: 12. You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap! A case-study of ISO 26000 on social responsibility Stephanie Bijlmakers and Geert Van Calster; 13. The development dimension of the Codex Alimentarius standard-setting process Awilo Ochieng Pernet; 14. Standards of responsible investment and international investment law Angelos Dimopoulos; Part V. International Standardisation and Innovation: 15. Interoperability standards, patents and competition policy Pierre Larouche and Geertrui Van Overwalle; 16. Standard-setting organisations (SSOs): current policy issues and empirical evidence Neil Gandal and Pierre Régibeau; 17. Technical standards and the draft General Data Protection Regulation Eleni Kosta and Kees Stuurman; 18. The law, economics and politics of international standardisation: a future research agenda Panagiotis Delimatsis.