Excerpts

Public policy--especially as shaped by a host of government and interest group interactions--is a pervasive influence on the business firm. This book analyzes both sides of that relationship, covering the many ways in which government policy affects the activities of the modern corporation and the various responses on the part of business. The purpose of this book is not to indoctrinate the student but to provide a better understanding of the intricate relationship between the public and private sectors--why and how government intervenes in the economy and how business can respond. Thus, quite deliberately, this book does not present an all-embracing theoretical framework to guide the student to the author's personal view of the optimal public policy and the appropriate private response. It is hoped that the tools for that search are provided here, and instructors are free to provide their preferred guidance to the student reader. This seventh edition represents a continuing effort to meet the changing needs and desires of the two main sets of users: students and faculty in schools of business and departments of economics. As someone who teaches both MBA students and upper-level undergraduate economic students, I have tried out preliminary versions on my students and have benefited from their reactions. This edition adds new sections on globalization, energy policy, reforming corporate governance, and terrorism, while it eliminates older, less relevant material. Part I is an overview of the tools that government has available to influence business decision making. Part II covers the field of government regulation in both the social and economic areas. Changes have been made to reflect recent developments in public policy. The new chapter on business and terrorism draws on my service in the fall of 2001 on a special task force on terrorism. Part III begins with a presentation of the pros and cons of globalization. Part IV brings together three important aspects of business-government relations that are often overlooked by researchers in this field: credit programs, the government market for the products of business, and tax policy. Part V deals with the key responses o business to government influence. Each chapter has been updated to cover recent developments. Part VI contains a thoroughly revised and updated chapter on corporate governance. In the last chapter, which focuses on the future of the business firm, an effort is made to identify the coming changes in government policies affecting private business. As in the previous editions, the focus of this book is on the future practitioner--the business executive who will be dealing with issues of public policy as a day-to-day aspect of the job. Also, it is hoped that this book will assist present and future government officials and members of interest groups to better appreciate the various consequences of their actions on the business system. The author would like to acknowledge Alan Hamlin, Southern Utah University, Thomas Lyon, Indiana University, and Donald Hicks, University of Texas at Dallas, for their suggestions on the revision of this text. The author is indebted to Ryan Argo and David Switzer for extremely helpful research assistance. As she has in the past, Christine Moseley carefully typed the various drafts and helped get the manuscript ready for publication. I am particularly grateful to my wife, Phyllis, for encouraging me to continue striving to improve communications with the generations that follow us. Murray L. Weidenbaum Washington University Excerpted from Business and Government in the Global Marketplace by Murray L. Weidenbaum All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.