Politics and Economics
In a changing globalized political and economic landscape, professionals need skills and insights to help preempt business disruptions. GetSmarter offers world-class online short courses in politics and economics that will empower you with strategies to safely navigate your career and organization through what’s likely to be a turbulent decade.
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Register for a politics and economics course
Economics and politics are intrinsically linked, with political ideology influencing economic policies, and economics mostly relying on political support.1 However, tension often exists between political and economic objectives, particularly when it comes to government decision-making.2
The arenas of politics and economics are continually evolving in an increasingly globalized society, and professionals who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the business implications will do well to keep their knowledge and skills updated. By taking a politics and economics course, you’ll gain insights that will help you anticipate and manage changes in global economics and politics, equipping you to make successful, strategic business decisions.
In addition, GetSmarter’s public policy courses are geared towards upskilling public sector workers. These online courses also give professionals who operate in the private sector insight into the world of public policy, where you’ll learn real-world practices that can be implemented directly into your policy environment. The courses take current economic and political circumstances into account, and serve to address business challenges that arise as a result.
What is politics’ role in business?
A business doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an integral part of the socioeconomic and political environment. Consequently, any political or legislative changes could have an impact on business.3
Politics can be defined as the practice and theory of what governments, political parties, and members of law-making organizations4 do to influence the people under their power and move them towards a desired outcome.5 From a business perspective, political changes can influence organizations of every size and industry. A few examples are:
- Taxation. Businesses are affected by government’s taxation policies. In the US, the Republican Party, similar to the UK’s Conservative Party, often implements tax cuts to promote business growth6
- Public policies. Policies around short-term, as well as more permanent issues, dictate how organizations, societies, and businesses can behave. These could pertain to an organization’s health, safety, transportation and housing policies, and even to economic relief after an unexpected drop in markets7
- Regulations and compliance. Governments are under growing pressure to introduce policies that protect their citizens and the environment in the face of constant technological changes, causing changes to regulations and policies with ramifications to businesses. Examples are China’s recent carbon emissions policy, which slowed down their local automotive industry,8 and Europe’s groundbreaking General Data Protection Regulation that changed the way the world uses customer information9
- Political climate. When regions or nations experience political unrest, it typically hampers business growth. Examples are Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Yemen, where recurring political instability and violence make investment growth and business prosperity near impossible10
Politics and economics closely intertwined
The science of economics is based on solving what can only be considered an irresolvable problem: how to use limited resources to meet humanities’ unlimited wants.11 For this reason, it’s commonly regarded as a social science rather than a pure science. Economics focuses on two primary areas:
- Microeconomics. The part of economics that relates to the study of how individuals and businesses make production, purchasing, investment, and saving decisions.12
- Macroeconomics. This deals with the large-scale economic operations of a country or system, and the impact that policies have on combined microeconomic decisions.13
An example of how economics and politics are interlinked is the complicated relationship between China and the United States. China, resistant to domestic political liberalization, undertook economic reforms in a bid to gain entry to the World Trade Organization. The United States supported these reforms because they promised increased trade between the two nations.14 But, as a result, America and China both received criticism: the former from other countries which saw these trade relations as being too favorable towards a nation as yet unable to uphold the basic human rights of its citizens; the latter from domestic fronts, with supporters of democracy as well as conservative Chinese nationals opposing further economic reforms.15 Trade tensions continue between the two countries, impacting negatively on business confidence all over the world.16
Politically, governments around the globe are experiencing many challenges and changes. Europe and the US are each undergoing their own political devolution, so to speak, where authority is being dispensed at a more regional and less centralized level, but for different reasons.17 Some of Europe’s challenges relate to the fact that the European Union (EU) doesn’t interfere with governance matters. It is, at its core, an economic union and not a political one. The American presidency, in turn, is loosening itself from its legacy federalist system, and placing more urgency on governance at a state level,18 resulting in groups of American states having to collaborate for each state’s well-being.19
As for economic trends, the World Economic Outlook predicts that global growth will increase at a slightly slower rate in the next few years than in the latter part of the previous decade.20 The economic effect of the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU (Brexit) is also going to have a marked impact, with European trading alliances lowering trade between themselves.21 On the other hand, the world now has more protection from the devastating global recessions that typically followed oil and energy price hikes from the once-dominant Middle East.22 Right now, the region only accounts for roughly a third of the world’s oil production.23 Additionally, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which convenes every five years, has sparked fears that America, Russia, and China could be preparing for a new, tech-enabled arms race driven by artificial intelligence and space drones.24
It’s clear that change is constant, and that governments and businesses need to be more intuitive and receptive to the opportunities that arise from emerging technologies, social challenges, and the needs of citizens and consumers.25
By joining one of the online short courses on offer from GetSmarter, you’ll gain the insights and tools needed to safeguard your business against future disruptions in economics and politics. With a flexible learning model that makes it possible to juggle a busy work schedule with study obligations, these university-designed courses come with the support to help you achieve your goals. Equip yourself with skills from politics and economics courses to help you future-proof your business.
Sources
1Pettinger, T. (Jun, 2019). ‘The relationship between economics and politics’. Retrieved from Economics Help.
2(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 4, 2020.
3Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
4(Nd). ‘Politics’. Retrieved from The Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed June 04, 2020.
5Pettinger, T. (Jun, 2019). ‘The relationship between economics and politics’. Retrieved from Economics Help.
6Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
7(Nd). ‘Why is public policy important?’. Retrieved from Reference. Accessed June 06, 2020.
8Wong, J. (Jun, 2019). ‘China’s new emissions rules choke local car makers’. Retrieved from WSJ.
9(Nd). ‘Data protection in the EU’. Retrieved from the European Commission. Accessed June 10, 2020.
10Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
11(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
12(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
13(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
14(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 04, 2020.
15(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 4, 2020.
16Cowen, T. (Jan, 2020). ‘Why 2020 is harder to predict than 2019 was’. Retrieved from Bloomberg.
17Bedzow, I. (Apr, 2020). ‘Leaders must flatten the political curve’. Retrieved from Forbes.
18McCarthy, T. (Apr, 2020). ‘Trump vs the states: how the president is remaking the government in his image’. Retrieved from The Guardian.
19Strauss, D. (Apr, 2020). ‘The US states uniting to combat coronavirus amidst leadership vacuum’. Retrieved from The Guardian.
20(Jan, 2020). ‘World economic outlook, Jan 2020’. Retrieved from IMF.
21Cowen, T. (Jan, 2020). ‘Why 2020 is harder to predict than 2019 was’. Retrieved from Bloomberg.
22Emmer, M. (Dec, 2019). ‘Political trends impacting business in 2020 and beyond’. Retrieved from Vistage.
23(2018). ‘OPEC share of world crude oil, 2018’. Retrieved from OPEC.
24Emmer, M. (Dec, 2019). ‘Political trends impacting business in 2020 and beyond’. Retrieved from Vistage.
25(2020). ‘Government trends 2020’. Retrieved from Deloitte.
Register for a politics and economics course
Economics and politics are intrinsically linked, with political ideology influencing economic policies, and economics mostly relying on political support.1 However, tension often exists between political and economic objectives, particularly when it comes to government decision-making.2
The arenas of politics and economics are continually evolving in an increasingly globalized society, and professionals who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the business implications will do well to keep their knowledge and skills updated. By taking a politics and economics course, you’ll gain insights that will help you anticipate and manage changes in global economics and politics, equipping you to make successful, strategic business decisions.
In addition, GetSmarter’s public policy courses are geared towards upskilling public sector workers. These online courses also give professionals who operate in the private sector insight into the world of public policy, where you’ll learn real-world practices that can be implemented directly into your policy environment. The courses take current economic and political circumstances into account, and serve to address business challenges that arise as a result.
What is politics’ role in business?
A business doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s an integral part of the socioeconomic and political environment. Consequently, any political or legislative changes could have an impact on business.3
Politics can be defined as the practice and theory of what governments, political parties, and members of law-making organizations4 do to influence the people under their power and move them towards a desired outcome.5 From a business perspective, political changes can influence organizations of every size and industry. A few examples are:
- Taxation. Businesses are affected by government’s taxation policies. In the US, the Republican Party, similar to the UK’s Conservative Party, often implements tax cuts to promote business growth6
- Public policies. Policies around short-term, as well as more permanent issues, dictate how organizations, societies, and businesses can behave. These could pertain to an organization’s health, safety, transportation and housing policies, and even to economic relief after an unexpected drop in markets7
- Regulations and compliance. Governments are under growing pressure to introduce policies that protect their citizens and the environment in the face of constant technological changes, causing changes to regulations and policies with ramifications to businesses. Examples are China’s recent carbon emissions policy, which slowed down their local automotive industry,8 and Europe’s groundbreaking General Data Protection Regulation that changed the way the world uses customer information9
- Political climate. When regions or nations experience political unrest, it typically hampers business growth. Examples are Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Yemen, where recurring political instability and violence make investment growth and business prosperity near impossible10
Politics and economics closely intertwined
The science of economics is based on solving what can only be considered an irresolvable problem: how to use limited resources to meet humanities’ unlimited wants.11 For this reason, it’s commonly regarded as a social science rather than a pure science. Economics focuses on two primary areas:
- Microeconomics. The part of economics that relates to the study of how individuals and businesses make production, purchasing, investment, and saving decisions.12
- Macroeconomics. This deals with the large-scale economic operations of a country or system, and the impact that policies have on combined microeconomic decisions.13
An example of how economics and politics are interlinked is the complicated relationship between China and the United States. China, resistant to domestic political liberalization, undertook economic reforms in a bid to gain entry to the World Trade Organization. The United States supported these reforms because they promised increased trade between the two nations.14 But, as a result, America and China both received criticism: the former from other countries which saw these trade relations as being too favorable towards a nation as yet unable to uphold the basic human rights of its citizens; the latter from domestic fronts, with supporters of democracy as well as conservative Chinese nationals opposing further economic reforms.15 Trade tensions continue between the two countries, impacting negatively on business confidence all over the world.16
Politically, governments around the globe are experiencing many challenges and changes. Europe and the US are each undergoing their own political devolution, so to speak, where authority is being dispensed at a more regional and less centralized level, but for different reasons.17 Some of Europe’s challenges relate to the fact that the European Union (EU) doesn’t interfere with governance matters. It is, at its core, an economic union and not a political one. The American presidency, in turn, is loosening itself from its legacy federalist system, and placing more urgency on governance at a state level,18 resulting in groups of American states having to collaborate for each state’s well-being.19
As for economic trends, the World Economic Outlook predicts that global growth will increase at a slightly slower rate in the next few years than in the latter part of the previous decade.20 The economic effect of the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU (Brexit) is also going to have a marked impact, with European trading alliances lowering trade between themselves.21 On the other hand, the world now has more protection from the devastating global recessions that typically followed oil and energy price hikes from the once-dominant Middle East.22 Right now, the region only accounts for roughly a third of the world’s oil production.23 Additionally, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which convenes every five years, has sparked fears that America, Russia, and China could be preparing for a new, tech-enabled arms race driven by artificial intelligence and space drones.24
It’s clear that change is constant, and that governments and businesses need to be more intuitive and receptive to the opportunities that arise from emerging technologies, social challenges, and the needs of citizens and consumers.25
By joining one of the online short courses on offer from GetSmarter, you’ll gain the insights and tools needed to safeguard your business against future disruptions in economics and politics. With a flexible learning model that makes it possible to juggle a busy work schedule with study obligations, these university-designed courses come with the support to help you achieve your goals. Equip yourself with skills from politics and economics courses to help you future-proof your business.
Sources
1Pettinger, T. (Jun, 2019). ‘The relationship between economics and politics’. Retrieved from Economics Help.
2(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 4, 2020.
3Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
4(Nd). ‘Politics’. Retrieved from The Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed June 04, 2020.
5Pettinger, T. (Jun, 2019). ‘The relationship between economics and politics’. Retrieved from Economics Help.
6Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
7(Nd). ‘Why is public policy important?’. Retrieved from Reference. Accessed June 06, 2020.
8Wong, J. (Jun, 2019). ‘China’s new emissions rules choke local car makers’. Retrieved from WSJ.
9(Nd). ‘Data protection in the EU’. Retrieved from the European Commission. Accessed June 10, 2020.
10Kaushik, P. (Sep, 2019). ‘How the political environment can impact your business’. Retrieved from Starting Business.
11(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
12(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
13(Nd). ‘What is the relationship between political science and economics?’. Retrieved from WiseGeek. Accessed June 04, 2020.
14(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 04, 2020.
15(Nd). ‘Historical development’. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed June 4, 2020.
16Cowen, T. (Jan, 2020). ‘Why 2020 is harder to predict than 2019 was’. Retrieved from Bloomberg.
17Bedzow, I. (Apr, 2020). ‘Leaders must flatten the political curve’. Retrieved from Forbes.
18McCarthy, T. (Apr, 2020). ‘Trump vs the states: how the president is remaking the government in his image’. Retrieved from The Guardian.
19Strauss, D. (Apr, 2020). ‘The US states uniting to combat coronavirus amidst leadership vacuum’. Retrieved from The Guardian.
20(Jan, 2020). ‘World economic outlook, Jan 2020’. Retrieved from IMF.
21Cowen, T. (Jan, 2020). ‘Why 2020 is harder to predict than 2019 was’. Retrieved from Bloomberg.
22Emmer, M. (Dec, 2019). ‘Political trends impacting business in 2020 and beyond’. Retrieved from Vistage.
23(2018). ‘OPEC share of world crude oil, 2018’. Retrieved from OPEC.
24Emmer, M. (Dec, 2019). ‘Political trends impacting business in 2020 and beyond’. Retrieved from Vistage.
25(2020). ‘Government trends 2020’. Retrieved from Deloitte.
