Economic Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

The course aims at offering a deep understanding of "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) which will be seen as a movement aiming at the affirmation of new models of governance of the firms - in contrast with the shareholder primacy model - and to make companies consistent with sustainable development goals. More specifically the course, beyond the understanding of the recent history of the CSR movement, through presentation of the new institutionalist theory of the firm aims at offering a solid knowledge of the economic explanations of corporate governance but also their limitations. And then it introduces participants to business ethics methods and theories aimed at viewing corporate governance in the light of social justice. By means of these economics and ethics conceptual tools, the goal of the course is offering a new view of the firm (and CSR) based on the social contract theory, able to answer both the needs of justification and implementation, at the intuitive, theoretical and operational level.

Knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course students will possess a wide understanding of the development of the CSR moments in the last twenty year, and the reason of the recurrent demand for CSR. Moreover, they will be able to use the concepts of transaction cost economics to explain different form of economics governance included the firm as a unified governance institution, but will also understand why the efficiency explanation is not sufficient. They will then be put in condition to use different business ethics views in order to justify economic institutions, by apprehending the methods and form of ethical reasoning. At last, the student will possess a deep understanding of a new model of corporate governance and socially responsible corporation, based on both economics and ethics, and on the social contract theory in particular. S/he will possess the philosophical intuition but also knowledge of the mathematical modelling of the theory, both in the perspective of providing justification and identifying the conditions for its implementation. Ability to apply knowledge: At the end of the course the student will be able to disentangle a proper and effective policy aimed at implement CSR at corporate level or through a public policy from initiatives that are doomed to fail, both because the action plan cannot elicit the necessary consensus and ethical justification, and because it does not employs regulatory governance and management tools necessary to elicit positive reputation effects or endogenous conformity preference. Beyond the ability of assessing the company initiatives, students will also possess the methodology for implementing CSR management tools consistent with the model.