There are two main reasons for this resurgence. One is that policies of structural adjustment and economic liberalization have brought the private sector back into political favour. The other is that thinking on government-business relations has been influenced by the example of some of the more successful industrial economies, notably Japan and Germany. Japanese and German business associations have been encouraged to get involved in policy making. Sometimes they have also implemented programmes on behalf of government - such as new research and development projects, or quality controls on exports.
Business associations are very diverse.
They range from large, well-resourced national organizations, to small operations run by a single, unpaid coordinator. Business associations are numerous, though precise statistics are rare. In most countries there are many more business associations than trades unions. In Taiwan 239 national level associations were registered in 1991. Uganda currently has 40 national business associations, and Sri Lanka about a hundred.