Unfortunately, CSR may be most effective before it’s a big deal
When BP says it will pay the whole cost of the Gulf of Mexico clean-up, even when its maximum legal liability may be much less, is it making a virtue of necessity? After all, the U.S. government is promising to “stand on its throat” to make it pay. Might as well volunteer for what is going to happen anyway. Or is it trying to salvage whatever glimmer of good publicity it can from the oily sludge? Or, finally, is it exhibiting “corporate social responsibility” and being a good “corporate citizen.” (Many people who object to the idea that corporations can be legal persons nevertheless want them to be good citizens.)
A new paper by the French economists Jean Tirole of the University of Toulouse and Roland Bénabou of Princeton puts corporate social responsibility (CSR) under the lens of mainstream economics.
See full Article.
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