Till crisis us do part: Business Interest Groups, Representatives and Business Regulation

In this article, we analyse how the position of business interest groups and representatives towards business regulation has changed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. In particular, we examine how the external shock is associated with policy changes in several areas that vary in their proximity to business regulation: financial regulation, fiscal policy and corporate governance. The first empirical analysis is based on parliamentary committee minutes, which capture the policy positions of Swiss representatives on tax policy and financial regulation (2000-2017). Our preliminary results show that after the crisis, representatives tilt more towards regulation in both tax policy and financial regulation. These findings have potentially important implications for understanding the dynamics between business interest groups and representatives.