120 research outputs found
Eco-modernity nordic style : The challenge of aligning ecological and socio-economic sustainability
No full textThis chapter explores the Nordic countries’ attempts to reconcile their environmental front-runner ambitions with their high productivity as advanced welfare states. On the one hand, the Nordics have taken leading positions in promoting environmental issues on the international stage. On the other hand, however, their high productivity, which is needed to support their welfare aspirations, has made them reluctant to promote and implement ecological measures that would limit economic growth. The chapter shows how this Nordic dualism may also be ecologically justified. In terms of biological capacity, three of the large Nordic countries - Finland, Norway and Sweden - are capable of absorbing their ecological footprints, given their vast territories and small populations. In terms of climate emissions per capita, however, the Nordics- apart from Sweden - are mediocre performers. When it comes to the implementation of climate policy, there is considerable Nordic diversity. Most of the Nordic countries have embarked on a path towards lowering their carbon emissions. However, their trajectories have varied greatly, reflecting differences in industrial structure and resource bases. Nevertheless, a belief in urban greening is widely shared, and the Nordic capitals top European green city rankings. Based on a green growth agenda, urban greening may provide an attractive opportunity for bridging ecological preservation and economic development, and allow the Nordics to transcend their ecology-versus-growth dilemma
Governance and business models for sustainable capitalism/ Atle Midttun.
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index."Governance and Business Models for Sustainable Capitalism touches upon many of the central themes of today's debate on business and society. In particular, it brings attention to a recurrent tension between efficiency, innovation and productivity on the one hand, and fairness, equity and sustainability on the other. The book argues that we need radical rethinking of business models and economic governance, beyond the classical doctrine which sees social and ecological responsibility as lying with public policy regulation of purely profit-seeking firms. In spite of the popular CSR agenda, business - as we know it today - is both too transient and too limited in its motivation to carry the regulatory burden. We need to adopt a much wider concept of "partnered governance", where advanced states and pioneering companies work together to raise the social and environmental bar. The book suggests that civil engagements based on moral rather than formal rights, and amplified through the media, may provide a healthy challenge both to autocratic planning and to solely profit-centered commercialization. The book also proposes a triple cycle theory of innovation for sustainability: a novel framing of the efficacy of green and prosocial entrepreneurship as intertwined with political visions and supportive institutions. In addition, the book offers reflections on the ways in which further digital robotizaton may enable transition to an 'Agora Economy' where productive efficiency is combined with expanded civic freedoms. Aimed primarily at researchers, academics and students in the fields of political economy, business and society, corporate governance, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, the book will additionally be of value to practitioners, supplying them with information regarding the challenges associated with the shaping of sustainable or 'civilised' market capitalism for a better world"--1 online resource
Privatization in oligopoly : the impact of the shadow cost of public funds
No full textThe aim of this paper is to investigate the welfare effect of privatization in oligopoly when the government takes into account the distortionary effect of raising funds by taxation (shadow cost of public funds). We analyze the impact of the change in ownership not only on the objective function of the firms, but also on the timing of competition by endogenizing the determination of simultaneous (Nash-Cournot) versus sequential (Stackelberg) games. We show that, absent efficiency gains, privatization never increases welfare. Moreover, even when large efficiency gains are realized, an inefficient public firm may be preferred
Sustainable Modernity
No full textThe Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351765633, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. In the 21st century, Norway, Denmark and Sweden remain the icons of fair societies, with high economic productivity and quality of life. But they are also an enigma in a cultural-evolutionary sense: though by no means following the same socio-economic formula, they are all cases of a "non-hubristic", socially sustainable modernity that puzzles outside observers. Using Nordic welfare states as its laboratory, Sustainable Modernity combines evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives to illuminate the mainsprings of what the authors call the "well-being society". The main contention is that the Nordic uniqueness is not merely the outcome of one particular set of historical institutional or political arrangements, or sheer historical luck; rather, the high welfare creation inherent in the Nordic model has been predicated on a long and durable tradition of social cooperation, which has interacted with global competitive forces. Hence the socially sustainable Nordic modernity should be approached as an integrated and tightly orchestrated ecosystem based on a complex interplay of cooperative and competitive strategies within and across several domains: normative-cultural, socio-political and redistributive. The key question is: Can the Nordic countries uphold the balance of competition and cooperation and reproduce their resilience in the age of globalization, cultural collisions, the digital economy, the fragmentation of the work/life division, and often intrusive EU regulation? With contributors providing insights from the humanities, the social sciences and evolutionary science, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, history, institutional economics, Nordic studies and human evolution studies
Sustainable Modernity
No full textThe Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351765633, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. In the 21st century, Norway, Denmark and Sweden remain the icons of fair societies, with high economic productivity and quality of life. But they are also an enigma in a cultural-evolutionary sense: though by no means following the same socio-economic formula, they are all cases of a "non-hubristic", socially sustainable modernity that puzzles outside observers. Using Nordic welfare states as its laboratory, Sustainable Modernity combines evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives to illuminate the mainsprings of what the authors call the "well-being society". The main contention is that the Nordic uniqueness is not merely the outcome of one particular set of historical institutional or political arrangements, or sheer historical luck; rather, the high welfare creation inherent in the Nordic model has been predicated on a long and durable tradition of social cooperation, which has interacted with global competitive forces. Hence the socially sustainable Nordic modernity should be approached as an integrated and tightly orchestrated ecosystem based on a complex interplay of cooperative and competitive strategies within and across several domains: normative-cultural, socio-political and redistributive. The key question is: Can the Nordic countries uphold the balance of competition and cooperation and reproduce their resilience in the age of globalization, cultural collisions, the digital economy, the fragmentation of the work/life division, and often intrusive EU regulation? With contributors providing insights from the humanities, the social sciences and evolutionary science, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, history, institutional economics, Nordic studies and human evolution studies
Creating Business and Social Value: the Asian Way to Integrate CSR into Business Strategies
No full textThis book addresses (1) the corporate social responsibility and business sustainability, (2) the United Nations global compact and the Asian way to integrate the 10 principles into business practices, (3) embedding CSR into business strategies and practices, and (4) roles of Government in supporting CSRCSR, global impact, Asian, Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainability
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