Corporate Behavior and Government Regulation

Author: Chen Fuliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-05-01
Features: Since the 1980s, the terms "regulation" and "deregulation" have been used increasingly widely in economic and policy literature abroad. Government regulation issues have received widespread attention. After the 1990s, many documents introducing Western regulation theory and practice emerged in China, such as the translation of "Microeconomic Regulation Economics" by Itoh Hiroyuki (1992). Scholars like Zhang Fan (in Tang Min and Mao Yushi, 1993, pp. 20–39) published numerous articles introducing Western regulation theory and practice, while Zhang Yuyan (1995) and others began to explore the regulation reform issues of public utilities in China. Yu Hui (1997) provided a detailed summary of China's economic and social regulation and their effects since the founding of the People's Republic of China in his monograph. Lu Fuxin (1998), a doctoral graduate, conducted typical analyses of the marketization and government regulation of several special commodities during China's transition period. Wang Junhao (1998, 1999), another doctoral graduate, drew on British experience to conduct specialized research on the government regulation system reform of infrastructure industries in China. However, foreign regulation research primarily focused on public utilities and natural monopoly industries, lacking a certain degree of generality. Later, the development of social regulation emphasized environmental protection and consumer protection. Although Stigler and others expanded the scope of government regulation research to the behavior regulation of all competitive and non-competitive industries, their research focus remained heavily on the origins of regulation. Yu Hui, in his monograph, provided a detailed evaluation of China's economic and social regulation after the founding of the People's Republic of China but focused more on comparative studies with foreign regulation. The monographs by Lu Fuxin and Wang Junhao primarily focused on examining government regulation issues in specialized fields. However, the question of which regulation measures the government should implement for the market behavior of Chinese enterprises—ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of microeconomic entities while achieving effective market competition; whether government regulation measures lead to inefficiencies, what defects they have, and how to correct them; and the new characteristics and requirements of government regulation models under the socialist market economy—all directly determine the positioning of the government's role. Yet, in China's academic circles, there has been no theoretical summary or discussion of these issues. This has led to the conception of this research topic. The main content of this research is to draw on Western regulation principles, closely China's actual government regulation, analyze the current regulation and its effects, explore measures for reform and improvement, establish a government regulation model adapted to the socialist market economy system, and thereby position the government's role.