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Corporate Social Responsibility through an Economic Lens

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Author Info
Stavins, Robert (Harvard U and Resources for the Future)
Reinhardt, Forest (Harvard U)
Vietor, Richard (Harvard U)

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Abstract

Business leaders, government officials, and academics are focusing considerable attention on the concept of "corporate social responsibility" (CSR), particularly in the realm of environmental protection. Beyond complete compliance with environmental regulations, do firms have additional moral or social responsibilities to commit resources to environmental protection? How should we think about the notion of firms sacrificing profits in the social interest? May they do so within the scope of their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders? Can they do so on a sustainable basis, or will the forces of a competitive marketplace render such efforts and their impacts transient at best? Do firms, in fact, frequently or at least sometimes behave this way, reducing their earnings by voluntarily engaging in environmental stewardship? And finally, should firms carry out such profit-sacrificing activities (i.e., is this an efficient use of social resources)? We address these questions through the lens of economics, including insights from legal analysis and business scholarship.

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Paper provided by Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government in its series Working Paper Series with number rwp08-023.

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Date of creation: Apr 2008
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Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp08-023

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L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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  10. repec:cup:cbooks:9780521819473 is not listed on IDEAS
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  1. Markus Kitzmueller, 2008. "Economics and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economics Working Papers ECO2008/37, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
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