Corporate transparency laws: A hollow victory?

The article examines reporting laws to determine if and how these laws shape corporate conduct and protect human rights. Since 2010 a wave of laws with extraterritorial effects has appeared as home states of multinationals began to mandate social disclosures. However, opinions as to their importance differ and some wonder whether these transparency laws are 'a hollow victory'. What is the evidence regarding the effectiveness of these laws? If they work, what are the exact pathways for change? The laws selected for analysis cover corporate sustainability, slavery, conflict minerals, revenue transparency, and corporate governance. To assess the impacts and potential of these laws, the article distinguishes between dynamics that are internal and external to the corporation, and between direct and more remote effects. Drawing on the evidence surrounding these transparency laws, their place in the regulatory regime for global value chains as well as the functions this regulatory method fulfils in relation to human rights are discussed.