Business Ethics and Corporate Governance

CHAPTER 19

Role of the Government in Ensuring Corporate Governance

INTRODUCTION

Taking the cue from the classical economists, die-hard admirers of capitalism often aver that ‘the government should get out of the way and let the market function’. Of course, that idea is a myth. Government is absolutely essential in setting up of a market economy. Without rules and structures of a binding nature, anarchy will be the outcome. ‘Under such conditions business becomes nothing but “casino capitalism” where investments are simply bets: bets that people will keep their word, bets that the firms are telling the truth, bets that employees will be paid, and bets that debts will be honoured. What corporate governance is all about in larger terms is how ...