IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/aosoci/v76y2019icp12-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Seeing like the market; exploring the mutual rise of transparency and accounting in transnational economic and market governance

Author

Listed:
  • Mehrpouya, Afshin
  • Salles-Djelic, Marie-Laure

Abstract

Mobilising the literature on global governance, governmentality and accounting regulation, we trace the historical deployment of transparency and the associated assemblages of actors and technologies in transnational economic and market governance. Starting with the first uses of the term “transparency” in the European Common Market (ECM) after World War II, we show how transparency came to inform and frame the imagined rational individual as the central economic (customer, central to price discovery) and later political (citizen, central to the market's public accountability) participant. We then show how in the 1990s, with the rise of the New Financial Architecture (NFA), the role of transparency in economic/market governance was fundamentally transformed. Beginning with their good governance programs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank gradually adopted “standardised transparency” (in the form of financial accounting, as well as standardised statistics, state budgets, corporate governance, etc.) to govern market participants through financial market discipline. This disciplining program worked in concert with a program of moral persuasion enacted through an intensifying performance measurement apparatus. We elaborate on the implications of this transformation for the political economy of accounting, by reflecting on how the reliance on standardised transparency in neoliberal governmentality has been about: a reconfiguration of the sites of problems (focused on the national level) and solutions (focalised at the global), a liquidation of transnational market governance (that is increased reach, flexiblisation and self-organisation of both the disciplining and moralising/subjectivising governance processes), and a reconfiguration of the topology of actorhood (away from states and individuals both as enablers and beneficiaries, and towards financial investors and private standard bodies).

Suggested Citation

  • Mehrpouya, Afshin & Salles-Djelic, Marie-Laure, 2019. "Seeing like the market; exploring the mutual rise of transparency and accounting in transnational economic and market governance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 12-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:76:y:2019:i:c:p:12-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2019.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368219300030
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.aos.2019.01.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nabli, Mustapha K. & Nugent, Jeffrey B., 1989. "The New Institutional Economics and its applicability to development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(9), pages 1333-1347, September.
    2. Graham, Cameron, 2010. "Accounting and the construction of the retired person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 23-46, January.
    3. Motsomi Marobela, 2008. "New public management and the corporatisation of the public sector in peripheral capitalist countries," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(6), pages 423-434, May.
    4. Stephen J. Brown & William N. Goetzmann & James M. Park, 1998. "Hedge Funds and the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997," New York University, Leonard N. Stern School Finance Department Working Paper Seires 98-014, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business-.
    5. Barreiros, Lídia., 1985. "Towards social accounting," ILO Working Papers 992431063402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Stiglitz, Joseph E., 2000. "Capital Market Liberalization, Economic Growth, and Instability," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1075-1086, June.
    7. Boughton, James M, 2000. "From Suez to Tequila: The IMF as Crisis Manager," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(460), pages 273-291, January.
    8. Gaoussou Diarra & Patrick Plane, 2014. "Assessing the World Bank's Influence on the Good Governance Paradigm," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 473-487, December.
    9. Bos, Frits, 1992. "The history of national accounting," MPRA Paper 5952, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Merino, Barbara Dubis & Neimark, Marilyn Dale, 1982. "Disclosure regulation and public policy a sociohistorical reappraisal," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 33-57.
    11. Loukas Tsoukalis & Robert Strauss, 1985. "Crisis and Adjustment in European Steel: Beyond Laisser‐Faire," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 207-228, March.
    12. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1987. "Accounting and the construction of the governable person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 235-265, April.
    13. Cooper, David J. & Sherer, Michael J., 1984. "The value of corporate accounting reports: Arguments for a political economy of accounting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 9(3-4), pages 207-232, October.
    14. Suddaby, Roy & Cooper, David J. & Greenwood, Royston, 2007. "Transnational regulation of professional services: Governance dynamics of field level organizational change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(4-5), pages 333-362.
    15. Young, Joni J., 2006. "Making up users," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 579-600, August.
    16. Brautigam, D., 1991. "Governance and economy : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 815, The World Bank.
    17. Jakob Vestergaard, 2004. "The Asian crisis and the shaping of 'proper' economies," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 28(6), pages 809-827, November.
    18. Hood, Christopher, 1995. "The "new public management" in the 1980s: Variations on a theme," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 93-109.
    19. Laux, Christian & Leuz, Christian, 2009. "The crisis of fair-value accounting: Making sense of the recent debate," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 826-834, August.
    20. Mirowski, Philip & Nik-Khah, Edward, 2017. "The Knowledge We Have Lost in Information: The History of Information in Modern Economics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780190270056.
    21. Power, Michael, 1999. "The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296034.
    22. Dean Neu & Jeff Everett & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2009. "Accounting assemblages, desire, and the body without organs," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 319-350, March.
    23. Archer, Candace C. & Biglaiser, Glen & DeRouen, Karl, 2007. "Sovereign Bonds and the “Democratic Advantage”: Does Regime Type Affect Credit Rating Agency Ratings in the Developing World?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(2), pages 341-365, April.
    24. Stijn Claessens & Joseph P. H. Fan, 2002. "Corporate Governance in Asia: A Survey," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 3(2), pages 71-103, June.
    25. Williamson, John, 1993. "Democracy and the "Washington consensus"," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 21(8), pages 1329-1336, August.
    26. Michael Power, 2010. "Fair value accounting, financial economics and the transformation of reliability," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 197-210.
    27. Roberts, John, 1991. "The possibilities of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 355-368.
    28. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1987. "The archeology of accounting systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 207-234, April.
    29. Michael Merlingen, 2011. "From Governance to Governmentality in CSDP: Towards a Foucauldian Research Agenda," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 149-169, January.
    30. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2002. "Information and the Change in the Paradigm in Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(3), pages 460-501, June.
    31. Humphrey, Christopher & Loft, Anne & Woods, Margaret, 2009. "The global audit profession and the international financial architecture: Understanding regulatory relationships at a time of financial crisis," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 810-825, August.
    32. Neu, Dean & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz & Everett, Jeff & Akindayomi, Akinloye, 2010. "The sign value of accounting: IMF structural adjustment programs and African banking reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 402-419.
    33. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony G., 1985. "Accounting in its social context: Towards a history of value added in the United Kingdom," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 381-413, October.
    34. Jason Furman & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1998. "Economic Crises: Evidence and Insights from East Asia," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(2), pages 1-136.
    35. Sebastian Botzem, 2012. "The Politics of Accounting Regulation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13992.
    36. Arnold, Patricia J., 2009. "Global financial crisis: The challenge to accounting research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 803-809, August.
    37. Marie-Laure Salles-Djelic, 1998. "Exporting the American Model," Post-Print hal-01892020, HAL.
    38. Bromley, Patricia & Sharkey, Amanda, 2017. "Casting call: The expanding nature of actorhood in U.S. firms, 1960–2010," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 3-20.
    39. Martinez, Daniel E. & Cooper, David J., 2017. "Assembling international development: Accountability and the disarticulation of a social movement," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 6-20.
    40. Samiolo, Rita, 2017. "Accounting, actorhood and actors: A comment on: Casting call: The expanding nature of actorhood in U.S. Firms, 1960–2010 by Patricia Bromley and Amanda Sharkey," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 21-26.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ann Jorissen & Ronita Ram & Pedro Moraya Barros, 2022. "Are IFRS Standards a ‘trusted’ language for private firm credit decisions? An analysis of country differences in users’ perspective," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 3021-3065, June.
    2. Konovalova, Mayya & Tuck, Penelope & Ormeño Pérez, Rodrigo, 2023. "In search of the owner: Regulating through transparency," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Ahmad, Nglaa & Haque, Shamima & Islam, Muhammad Azizul, 2024. "Modern slavery disclosure regulations in the global supply Chain: A world-systems perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Duenas, Nelson & Mangen, Claudine, 2023. "Trust in international cooperation: Emotional and cognitive trust complement each other over time," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Kjellberg, Hans & Sjögren, Ebba & Krafve, Linus Johansson, 2023. "The functions of known to be inaccurate prices in markets: A cross-country comparison of pharmaceutical list pricing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    6. Baudot, Lisa & Cooper, David J., 2022. "Regulatory mandates and responses to uncomfortable knowledge: The case of country-by-country reporting in the extractive sector," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Anatoliy Kostruba, 2021. "Legal aspects of transnational scale corporations? activity in terms of sustainable development," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(2), pages 49-61.
    8. Anatoliy Kostruba, 2022. "Legal aspects of transnational scale corporations' activity in terms of sustainable development," Post-Print hal-03585155, HAL.
    9. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Joanna Błażyńska & Beata Zaleska & Farid Ullah & Windham Eugene Loopesko, 2022. "Compliance with Corporate Governance Principles by Energy Companies Compared with All Companies Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-28, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mehrpouya, Afshin, 2015. "Instituting a transnational accountability regime: The case of Sovereign Wealth Funds and “GAPP”," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 15-36.
    2. Horvat Robert & Korošec Bojana, 2015. "The Role of Accounting in a Society: Only a techn(olog)ical solution for the problem of economic measurement or also a tool of social ideology?," Naše gospodarstvo/Our economy, Sciendo, vol. 61(4), pages 32-40, August.
    3. Cooper, Christine, 2015. "Entrepreneurs of the self: The development of management control since 1976," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 14-24.
    4. Kornberger Martin & Pflueger Dane & Mouritsen Jan, 2017. "Evaluative infrastructures : Accounting for platform organization," Post-Print hal-02276737, HAL.
    5. Pflueger, Dane, 2016. "Knowing patients: The customer survey and the changing margins of accounting in healthcare," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 17-33.
    6. Palea, Vera, 2017. "Whither accounting research? A European view," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 59-73.
    7. Power, Michael, 2015. "How accounting begins: Object formation and the accretion of infrastructure," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 43-55.
    8. Kornberger, Martin & Pflueger, Dane & Mouritsen, Jan, 2017. "Evaluative infrastructures: Accounting for platform organization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 79-95.
    9. Himick, Darlene, 2016. "Actuarialism as biopolitical and disciplinary technique," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 22-44.
    10. Himick, Darlene, 2011. "Relative performance evaluation and pension investment management: A challenge for ESG investing," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 158-171.
    11. Bryer, Alice Rose, 2011. "Accounting as learnt social practice: The case of the empresas recuperadas in Argentina," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 478-493.
    12. Erb, Carsten & Pelger, Christoph, 2015. "“Twisting words”? A study of the construction and reconstruction of reliability in financial reporting standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 13-40.
    13. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    14. Giovanna Centorrino, 2021. "The complex power dynamics within a health care institution during the 15th and 18th centuries. The case of the Great and New Hospital of Palermo," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 11-59.
    15. Christensen, Mark & Newberry, Susan & Potter, Bradley N., 2019. "Enabling global accounting change: Epistemic communities and the creation of a ‘more business-like’ public sector," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 53-76.
    16. Hayoun, Shaul, 2019. "How fair value is both market-based and entity-specific: The irreducibility of value constellations to market prices," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 68-82.
    17. Cooper, David J. & Robson, Keith, 2006. "Accounting, professions and regulation: Locating the sites of professionalization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(4-5), pages 415-444.
    18. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2015. "Preventing corruption within government procurement: Constructing the disciplined and ethical subject," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 49-61.
    19. O'Dwyer, Brendan & Unerman, Jeffrey, 2016. "Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-40.
    20. Robson, Keith & Bottausci, Chiara, 2018. "The sociology of translation and accounting inscriptions: Reflections on Latour and Accounting Research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 60-75.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:76:y:2019:i:c:p:12-31. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/aos .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.