Self Regulation vs. Governmental Regulatory Agencies

"Do you believe self regulation is more or less effective than governmental regulatory agencies?  Why?"

 I believe that Self Regulation is much less effective than governmental regulatory agencies simply because regulatory agencies would generally have higher standards.  This is because if Self Regulation was all that was necessary, standards could be as low as they wanted, such as cleanliness, wages, product quality and workload.  In many cases it would be much cheaper to self regulate because you could cut corners and focus on the profit, instead of having any sort of corporate responsibility.  In some ways however, self regulation can benefit in ways that governmental regulations cannot, such as higher standards, ethics, and creativity in the workplace.  If a company wants to make regulations on itself that exceed governmental regulations it could end up making the company and the consumer benefit mutually.  
 What are some ways that Self Regulation could be more effective than Governmental Regulations, and why?

A response to Haley Bannon's post

Have you ever found yourself being persuaded to purchase a product after noticing the ads while surfing the internet?  

Yes of course I have, Especially when it comes to school books.  When I search the internet for cheap books for school, immediately sites like facebook or google tailor their ads towards my interests and recent product searches, offering me discounts and different sites to buy my books from.  They are pore persuading simply because they know what type of item that I am looking for.  It is a fantastic marketing technique that benefits both the customer and the seller.