The 'No Dirty Gold' campaign: What economists can learn from and contribute to corporate campaigns

Abstract

The article studies NGO's successful work on corporate campaigns for higher environmental or labor standards and what applied peace economists may learn from such campaigns. By way of example, the article employs the No Dirty Gold (NDG) as a model. Two main conclusions are offered. First, a corporate campaign is likely to be more successful if a target industry or company has valuable brand names to protect and sells a non-essential product in a marketplace where substitutes are readily available. Second, economists can contribute to the success of such campaigns by using their analytical tools to raise the media profile of a corporate campaign, to reach large numbers of consumers, and to work effectively with corporations that are responsive to the issues raised in the campaign.