Business is one of the major power centres in modern society. The state seeks to check and channel that power so as to serve broader public policy objectives. However, if the way in which business is governed is ineffective or over burdensome, it may become more difficult to achieve desired goals such as economic growth or higher levels of employment. In a period of international economic crisis, the study of how business and government relate to each other in different countries is of more central importance than ever. These relationships have been studied from a number of different disciplinary perspectives--business studies, economics, economic history, law, and political science-- and all of these are represented in this handbook. The first part of the book provides an introduction to the ways in which five different disciplines have approached the study of business and government. The second section, on the firm and the state, looks at how these entities interact in different settings, emphasising such phenomena as the global firm and varieties of capitalism. The third section examines how business interacts with government in different parts of the world, including the United States, the EU, China, Japan and South America. The fourth section reviews changing patterns of market governance through a unifying theme of the role of regulation. Business-government relations can play out in divergent ways in different policy and the fifth section examines the contrasts between different key arenas such as competition policy, trade policy, training policy and environmental policy. The volume provides an authoritative overview with chapters by leading authorities on the current state of knowledge of business-government relations, but also points to ways in which this work might be developed in the future, e.g., through a political theory of the firm.About the SeriesOxford Handbooks in Business & Management bring together the world's leading scholars on the subject to discuss current research and the latest thinking in a range of interrelated topics including Strategy, Organizational Behavior, Public Management, International Business, and many others. Containing completely new essays with extensive referencing to further reading and key ideas, the volumes, in hardback or paperback, serve as both a thorough introduction to a topic and a useful desk reference for scholars and advanced students alike.
Author(s): David Coen, Wyn Grant, Graham Wilson
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 806
Contents......Page 8
List of Figures......Page 12
List of Tables......Page 13
List of Contributors......Page 14
Overview......Page 18
PART I: DISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES......Page 24
1. Political Science: Perspectives on Business and Government......Page 26
2. Economics: Economic Theories of the Firm, Business, and Government......Page 52
3. Law and Business......Page 80
4. Business Studies: The Global Dynamics of Business–State Relations......Page 106
PART II: FIRM AND STATE......Page 138
5. Varieties of Capitalism and Business......Page 140
6. The Global Firm: The Problem of the Giant Firm in Democratic Capitalism......Page 165
7. The Political Theory of the Firm......Page 190
8. Business and Political Parties......Page 208
9. Economic Interests and Political Representation: Coordination and Distributive Conflict in Historical Perspective......Page 225
10. Business and Neo-corporatism......Page 265
PART III: COMPARATIVE BUSINESS SYSTEMS......Page 276
11. Business Representation in Washington, DC......Page 278
12. European Business–Government Relations......Page 302
13. Business Politics in Latin America: Patterns of Fragmentation and Centralization......Page 324
14. Japanese Business–Government Relations......Page 347
15. China and the Multinational Experience......Page 363
PART IV: CHANGING MARKET GOVERNANCE......Page 398
16. The Rise of the Regulatory State......Page 400
17. International Regulators and Network Governance......Page 421
18. Credit Rating Agencies......Page 439
19. International Standards and Standard Setting Bodies......Page 457
20. Taming Globalization? Civil Regulation and Corporate Capitalism......Page 489
PART V: POLICY......Page 512
21. Corporate Control and Managerial Power......Page 514
22. Corporate Social Responsibility and Government......Page 529
23. The State, Business, and Training......Page 561
24. Social Policy and Business......Page 582
25. Public–Private Partnerships in Business and Government......Page 602
26. Entrepreneurship and Small Business Policy: Evaluating its Role and Purpose......Page 617
27. Consumer Policy: Business and the Politics of Consumption......Page 639
28. Media Economics and the Political Economy of Information......Page 660
29. Environmental and Food Safety Policy......Page 680
30. Network Utilities: Technological Development, Market Structure, and Forms of Ownership......Page 701
31. Endogenous Trade Protection: A Survey......Page 720
32. Competition Policy......Page 747
A......Page 774
B......Page 775
C......Page 777
D......Page 780
E......Page 781
F......Page 783
G......Page 784
H......Page 786
I......Page 787
J......Page 788
K......Page 789
L......Page 790
M......Page 791
O......Page 793
P......Page 794
R......Page 796
S......Page 797
T......Page 799
U......Page 800
W......Page 803
Z......Page 804
