ECON 148: Investors and the Social Responsibility of Business (PUBLPOL 150)

Course Description

Much of the world's economic activity is undertaken by corporations, the largest being more powerful than most nations. Given daunting societal challenges like climate change, inequality, and racial injustice, what objectives should corporations have? In this course, we discuss the ongoing debate about the social responsibility of corporations. We consider shareholder activism, divestments made by university endowments and other ways investors might influence corporations. We look at the ESG (environment, social, governance) movement and the potential for "impact investing" to solve problems. Throughout we focus on whether the incentives of key decision makers are aligned with desirable objectives. We will bring to class CEOs and leading investors in public and private equity, to ensure we provide a balance of theory and practice.