Opening up to global markets, regulating "big tech", sanctioning initiators of violent conflict, or drafting global tax reform -- recent policy debates reflect a well-established pattern: political decisions shape firm behavior, and political decisions are heavily shaped by firms. Whether you find yourself working for a firm, an interest group, or a government, at some point, you will have to consider these interactions between firms and politics. Doing so requires you to face a set of questions: How do politics and policies impact firms? What strategies do firms pursue to shape politics and policy? And what explains differences in these interactions across firms, issue areas, and countries? Drawing on work from economics, political science, management, and law, and combining lectures, classroom discussion, as well as case studies and projects, we will examine a range of topics surrounding these questions, including corporate lobbying and corporate social responsibility; "big tech" and market power; political risk and uncertainty; innovation and technological change; and globalization. Note: This course counts toward the undergraduate Comparative OR International Politics subfield.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA
