Market power of the client and fake cooperatives: an interdisciplinary analysis.

The essay examines whether and how the regulation of labour relations and labour markets can effectively steer economic operators toward choices that prioritise compliance with labour standards. Taking as its starting point the emblematic case of labour cooperatives – and the frequent misuse of this legal form to evade not only workers’ protections but also fiscal and social security obligations – the analysis addresses the issue of the effectiveness of labour, criminal, and tax regulations aimed at governing the labour market, as well as their capacity to sanction violations effectively. Alongside the labour law perspective, the essay adopts a microeconomic approach which, drawing on agency theory, highlights how information asymmetries, incentive problems, and weaknesses in monitoring mechanisms foster opportunistic behaviour and adverse selection processes. In such contexts, price-based competition tends to shift economic risk along the supply chain onto workers, thereby fuelling in-work poverty and social dumping. The essay concludes with brief reflections on the extent to which effective labour regulation can also contribute to fair competition among firms.

Keywords: Labour regulation; Enforcement of labour law; Regulatory compliance; Entrepreneurial and managerial strategies; Competitive distortions.

Maria Rosa Battaggion, Lucio Imberti, Potere di mercato del committente e false cooperative: un’analisi interdisciplinare in "GIORNALE DI DIRITTO DEL LAVORO E DI RELAZIONI INDUSTRIALI " Online First/2026, pp 1-15, DOI: 10.3280/GDLoa2026001