Shareholder Social Responsibility

Amidst concerns about the negative effects on long-run value and competitiveness, one overlooked consequence of short-termism is its impediment to corporate social responsibility (CSR).In this Article, Part II examines the short-termism phenomenon, first from the point of view of investors and then from that of corporate managers, and summarizes widely held views about the social costs of short-termism. Part III then shifts the focus to the impact of shorttermism on CSR, a problem that has been largely overlooked, and develops two theories or models of CSR: the “ethical” and the “strategic.” Part III also explains how short-termism presents a significant obstacle to both models of CSR, which compounds concerns about the impact of short-termism on long-run corporate success. Accordingly, it is all the more urgent to understand the causes of institutional investor shorttermism, a subject that has not received the attention that it deserves. In Part IV, the Article first examines the pressures that institutions— particularly public and private pension funds—face to meet their current obligations. It then turns to competition among institutions for investor funds, a problem for mutual funds in particular. Finally, the Article touches briefly on competition among independent investment advisors and fiduciary duty law as potential contributors to the short-termism phenomenon

Human Rights and Delaware Corporate Law

Moderator: Franklin Gevurtz, Distinguished Professor and Scholar and Director, Global Center for Business & Development, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law This panel will examine the incorporation of international human rights norms into state and national corporate law and principles of corporate governance. The “Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework” adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2008 renders myopic the notion that national and sub-national laws on corporate governance and the liabilities of corporate officials can ignore international human rights norms, since this framework invokes both the state duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business, through appropriate policies, regulation, and adjudication and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights by acting with due diligence to avoid infringing on the rights of others. The panel, however, will explore not only human rights norms implicated when corporations act in ways that infringe human rights, but also consider the application of such norms when governments infringe upon the human rights of corporations and their owners

Default Rules, Wealth Distribution, and Corporate Law Reform: Employment at Will Versus Job Security

None available

Shareholder Social Responsibility

Amidst concerns about the negative effects on long-run value and competitiveness, one overlooked consequence of short-termism is its impediment to corporate social responsibility (CSR).In this Article, Part II examines the short-termism phenomenon, first from the point of view of investors and then from that of corporate managers, and summarizes widely held views about the social costs of short-termism. Part III then shifts the focus to the impact of shorttermism on CSR, a problem that has been largely overlooked, and develops two theories or models of CSR: the “ethical” and the “strategic.” Part III also explains how short-termism presents a significant obstacle to both models of CSR, which compounds concerns about the impact of short-termism on long-run corporate success. Accordingly, it is all the more urgent to understand the causes of institutional investor shorttermism, a subject that has not received the attention that it deserves. In Part IV, the Article first examines the pressures that institutions— particularly public and private pension funds—face to meet their current obligations. It then turns to competition among institutions for investor funds, a problem for mutual funds in particular. Finally, the Article touches briefly on competition among independent investment advisors and fiduciary duty law as potential contributors to the short-termism phenomenon