Exploring the Relationship between Business Elite Networks and Redistributive Social Policies in Latin American Countries

Abstract

Although the cohesion of business elites has been associated with income concentration and regressive policies, few studies have investigated in depth the role of business elite networks in macrosocial issues such as redistributive social policies. This research explores the relationship between business elite networks and redistributive social policies in several Latin American countries. To do so, this paper (1) examines business elite networks applying a network analysis of interlocking directorates, and (2) performs a cross-national comparative analysis of the cohesiveness of business elite networks, coverage and incidence of social protection and labor programs, and other variables. Results show that where business elites formed cohesive networks, social protection and labor programs were more inclusive. In conjunction with other factors, business cohesion plays a crucial role in business elites' acceptance of redistributive social policies because it enables long-term cost-sharing agreements, reduces uncertainty and internal divergent interests, and facilitates inducement.

Exploring the relationship between corporate networks and varieties of media capture

“…Building on that, we argue that when media corporations are embedded in cohesive networks of interlocking directorates, business elites have easier access to the media and more opportunities to articulate interests, minimize internal disputes and coordinate actions to capture the media. This arises because corporate networks are a platform for building consensus, generating shared beliefs about politics (Heemskerk, 2007) and facilitating peer inducement (Cárdenas, 2020). When business elites are tied to media outlets, they have more chances to produce and repeatedly send common messages that garner privileged representation of specific business interests, which at the end may help them to block redistributive political projects.…”

Élites empresariales y desigualdad en tiempos de pandemia en América Latina

“…El estudio de las élites empresariales para entender la desigualdad ha aumentado significativamente ya que permite comprender cómo se crean (o bloquean) proyectos políticos redistributivos (Cárdenas, 2020;Milanovic, 2019). Es muy probable que la investigación sobre élites y desigualdad siga creciendo en la era poscoronavirus ya que las sociedades se enfrentan a una realidad altamente compleja de gestionar donde el crecimiento de la desigualdad puede incentivar nuevas protestas sociales y emergencia de nuevos partidos políticos con programas redistributivos (y quizá no-democráticos).…”