The Political Economy of the Company

Description

Theoretical writing on the company and company law has been dominated in recent years by economics. This collection of essays by a distinguished team of authors drawn from a variety of disciplines seeks to build on the insights of this economic analysis and broaden understanding by examining the company in a wider historical, legal, political, and sociological context. Issues discussed include the attitudes of political parties in the UK to the company, the rise of the non-executive director, institutional activism and stakeholder protection, and the evolution of the nexus of contracts theory of the company. There is also a strong comparative theme, with discussions of the political and sociological context of corporate governance in France, Germany, and Japan, together with developments at the European level.

John Parkinson, who died in 2004, was Professor of Law at the University of Bristol. Gavin Kelly is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Andrew Gamble is Professor of Politics and Director of the Political Economy Research Centre, University of Sheffield.

...a valuable and timely contribution to current debates about the regulation of (large) companies in the United Kingdom. The individual essays are thoughtful and scholarly, and the text is given an overall coherence by the editors introductory chapter, which summarises well the subsequent essays whilst highlighting the principal themes of the text. -- Chris Riley * Legal Studies * The text offers a valuable collection of reflective essays on the nature, scope and change in the U.K. corporate governance theory. For the North American reader, the collection provides key insights into the development of U.K. company law An easy and interesting read, the book makes a most helpful contribution to the corporate governance debate. -- Janis Sarra * Canadian Business Law Journal *