International Business Elites and the Making of Public Policy

Business elites have historically played key roles in shaping public policy. But the perception of what business elites have done across place and time has changed with changing historical conditions. This panel brings together contributions from several different perspectives and from different countries to explore what business elites have done to shape (1) the development of the British empire, (2) U.S. wartime tax policies, and (3) late twentieth-century American airline regulations. Each of the panelists, including the chair and discussant, are leading business and legal historians. Two of the panel papers are part of a forthcoming edited volume (organized by the panel chair and commentator) that focuses on the transformation of the European and North American business elites from the beginning of the twentieth century to the end of the World War II.