Business and the state are today intrinsically correlated. Academics in the field of Economy, Sociology and Political Science have described the behaviour of businesses as culturally and politically oriented and enacted. Politically active firms are a sign of a well functioning democracy and a growing economy. However, the recent international economic downturns have unveiled also systematic problems deriving from the relationship between business and the state with obvious negative externalities on society and the quality of democratic governance.
With reference to the Irish case, this course deals with the societal and governmental context of business. It focuses on the interactions between political institutions, businesses and society in Ireland. More precisely, we will consider how the interaction between business, politics and society is governed and how actors participate and transform it. To this end, we will build upon the theories deriving from the studies concerning political economy, democracy, interest groups, business and ethics, political corruption, white-collar crime, transparency and accountability.
Module Contents and Readings:
Topic 1: Introduction to Business and Government
Required Readings:
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapters 1.
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and Society, Introduction.
Reccomended
• Heywood, A. Politics. Chapter 1 and 3.
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 3 and 4 for a Business and Law perspective.
Topic 2: Setting the unit of analysis – Ireland’s Business Environment
Required Readings:
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and
Society, Chapter 1 and 2.
• Fitzgerald J. (2014). Ireland’s Recovery from the Crisis.
https://www.esri.ie/pubs/JACB201418.pdf
Recommended:
• Hardiman N. (2010). Irish Government in Crisis, Chapter 5.
• De Grauwe, P. (2010). The financial crisis and the future of the Eurozone (No. 21). European Economic Studies Department, College of Europe. (for a EU perspective) https://ideas.repec.org/p/coe/wpbeep/21.html
• Whelan, Karl, Ireland’s economic crisis: The good, the bad and the ugly (2013), http://www.karlwhelan.com/Papers/Whelan-IrelandPaper-June2013.pdf
Topic 3: Varieties of Capitalism and Business in Ireland
Required Readings:
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 5.
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and Society, Chapter 3.
Recommended:
• Soskice, D. W., & Hall, P. A. (2001). Varieties of capitalism: The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Topic 4: Irish Political Culture 1
Required Readings:
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 2.
Topic 5: Irish Political Culture 2
Required Readings:
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 2.
Topic 6: The Oireachtas
Required Readings:
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 8.
Topic 7: The Political Parties
Required Readings:
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 6.
Topic 8: Interest Groups and Systems of Interest Representation
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 11.
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and Society, Chapter 13.
Recommended:
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and Society, Chapter 14.
• Dahl, R. A. (1961). Who Governs: Democracy And Power In An American City. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Schmitter, P. C. (1974). Still the century of corporatism? The Review of Politics, 36(1), 85-131.
• Siaroff, A. (1999). Corporatism In 24 Industrial Democracies: Meaning And Measurement. European Journal Of Political Research 36(2), 175-205.
Topic 9: Lobbying in Ireland
• Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (2010) (eds.), Politics in the Republic of Ireland, 5th edition. London: Routledge, Chapter 11.
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 12.
Recommended:
• Teague, P. (2006). Social Partnership And Local Development In Ireland: The Limits To Deliberation. British Journal Of Industrial Relations, 44(3), 421-443.
• Teague, P., and Donaghey, J. (2009). Why Has Irish Social Partnership Survived? British Journal Of Industrial Relations, 47(1), 55-78.
• Stafford, P. (2011). The Rise And Fall Of Social Partnership: Its Impact On Interest Group Lobbying In Ireland. Journal Of Public Affairs, 11(2), 74-79.
• Roche, W. K., And Cradden, T. (2003). Neo-Corporatism And Social Partnership. In Adshead, M., And M., Millar (Eds.) Public Administration And Public Policy In Ireland: Theory And Methods, 69-87. Abington: Routledge.
Topic 10 Lobbying Regulation
• Crane A. & D. Matten (2010). Business Ethics. OUP. Chapter 1 and 2
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 22.
Topic 11: Business and Political Parties
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 8.
• Chari and Bernhagen (2011), Financial and Economic Crisis: Explaining the Sunset over the Celtic Tiger, Irish Political Studies, Dec 2011, Vol 26/4.
Recommended:
• McMenamin, I. (2013). Business Financing Of Politics In Ireland: Theory, Evidence And Reform. Irish Political Studies, 28(1), 20-38.
Topic 12: Corporate social responsibility
Recommended:
• Crane A. & D. Matten (2010). Business Ethics. OUP. Chapter 2
• Hogan, J., Donnelly, P. F., & O'Rourke, B. K. (Eds.). (2010). Irish Business and
Society, Chapter 8.
Topic 13: The EU and its impact in Irish Business – Competition
• Chari and Krtizinger, Understanding EU policy making, Chapter 5
• Case Study on Competition Policy (TBA)
Recommended:
• Coen, D., Grant, W., & Wilson, G. (Eds.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of business and government, Chapter 32.
• Cini M. and L. McGowan (2008). Competition Policy in the EU 2nd ed.
• Chari R. (2015). Life After Privatization (Oxford University Press)
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Module Content:Indicative Structure in Teaching WeeksWeek 1 Business and GovernmentWeek 2 Irish Business EnvironmentWeek 3 Varieties of Capitalism and Economic PolicyWeek 4 Irish Political Culture 1Week 5 Irish Political Culture 2Week 6 The OireachtasWeek 7 The Political Parties Week 8 Interest Groups and Systems of Interest RepresentationWeek 9 Business and Political PartiesWeek 10 Lobbying in Ireland Week 11 Lobbying Regulation Week 12 Corporate citizenship and social responsibilityWeek 13 Corporate Social ResponsibilityWeek 14 Ireland in the EU
Instruction will be by means of lectures and class discussion. Each week there will be a two hours lecture. Lecture notes will be posted on Brightspace immediately after each class. Lecture notes are not a substitute for you completing the readings! They are a complement. Students are expected to keep up-to-date with the readings and topical issues in the Irish political economic arena. Please be ready to discuss all of the required readings in class. For your essays, you are expected to go beyond the list of required readings and find other sources independently. You are also very welcome to raise issues from the further readings.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 100 |