Undergraduate Course: The Economics of Corporate Social Responsibility (ECNM10099)
Course Outline
| School | School of Economics |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This is an economics course on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Unlike other courses on corporate social responsibility and business ethics that are taught in educational programs for business management, the objective of this course is not to provide students with management tools; rather, it aims to contribute to an analysis and discussion, primarily from economics, to the issues addressed. In addition to a discussion of the topics grounded in economics, the course always attempts to provide empirical motivation and evidence to the various topics addressed. |
| Course description |
This is an economics course on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Increasingly, social, environmental and ethical considerations are salient when discussing firm behavior in capitalist and market economies. We will address its implications, from a positive as well as from a normative point of view. Thus, after showing that citizens show pro-social preferences in their market behavior (e.g., as consumers or shareholders), we will study its effect on product market competition. When doing so, we will consider a crucial aspect with regards to the so called socially responsible firm practices, namely, the level of market transparency. CSR not only concerns consumers, but also other firm stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, shareholders and other financers, and we will also pay attention to them in our analysis.
Then, we will discuss corporate governance in light of corporate social responsibility, as well as the interaction that CSR (sometimes also called self-regulation) has with the more traditional way society usually has dealt with firm behavior, namely, formal regulation. Then, we will also study and discuss some industry and firm case studies, including the role of CSR in the current climate change crisis. Finally, we end with an analysis of the moral limits of the markets, discussing whether it is appropriate for certain transactions (such as kidneys exchanges) to be part of the market exchange or not.
Unlike other courses on corporate social responsibility and business ethics that are taught in educational programs for business management, the objective of this course is not to provide students with management tools; rather, it aims to contribute to an analysis and discussion, primarily from economics, to the issues addressed. In addition to a discussion of the topics grounded in economics, the course always attempts to provide empirical motivation and evidence to the various topics addressed.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Economics 2 (ECNM08006)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have an equivalent of at least 4 semester-long Economics courses at grade B or above for entry to this course. This MUST INCLUDE courses in Intermediate Macroeconomics (with calculus); Intermediate Microeconomics (with calculus); Probability and Statistics; and Introductory Econometrics. If macroeconomics and microeconomics courses are not calculus-based, then, in addition, Calculus (or Mathematics for Economics) is required. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
171 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
2,000-word essay - 20%«br /»
2-hour examination - 80% |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- A knowledge and understanding of key concepts, issues and models of the economics of corporate social responsibility, along with empirical evidence on and policy implications of those models and a deeper understanding of recent research activity in some more specialised areas.
- Research and investigative skills such as problem framing and solving and the ability to assemble and evaluate complex evidence and arguments.
- Communication skills in order to critique, create and communicate understanding and to collaborate with and relate to others.
- Personal effectiveness through task-management, time-management, teamwork and group interaction, dealing with uncertainty and adapting to new situations, personal and intellectual autonomy through independent learning.
- Practical/technical skills such as, modelling skills (abstraction, logic, succinctness), qualitative and quantitative analysis and general IT literacy.
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Reading List
| Heal, Geoffrey, 2008, When Principles Pay: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Bottom Line, (Columbia Business School Publishing) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | social responsibility,corporate responsibility,csr,firm behaviour |
Contacts
| Course organiser | |
Course secretary | Mr Daniel Harrington
Tel: (0131 6)51 5936
Email: dan.harrington@ed.ac.uk |
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