The respective, roles and complementary interactions between business and government are essential for the political economy within countries. Due to its productive function, business experiences and enjoys a position of privilege with governments, while a key part of government is focussed on monitoring, managing and regulating business. The structure and role of business and government have been changing rapidly in the past two decades: so too have the conceptual tools for understanding changes in these two major entities of all societies on the globe. Business and Government in the Global Context critically reviews contemporary academic writing and commentary on developments and uses case examples and multiple forms of resources in this course to familiarise students with theoretical, normative and practical issues to gain a heightened appreciation of the interconnections, dependency and complexity between business and government and the importance of the relationship.
On completion of this course you should have a developed understanding of the variation in terms of the character and inter-relationship of business and government in contemporary societies including: ever changing public sector and private sector boundaries, the re-configuration of the mixed economies, the neo-liberal paradigm - its critics and supporters, the impact on the socio-political environment has business, the role of interest groups in public policy, changing expectations of corporate governance and ethics, the role of business advocacy, government regulation of business, alternatives of self-regulation and co-regulation, the effects of globalisation, and the growth of multinational and transnational corporations.