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Health systems across the world face multiple pressures. Input costs are soaring, systems are struggling to keep up with increasing demand for their services and areas of the world still lack universal health coverage. All of this whilst health inequalities between the best and worst-off within countries persist and, in some countries, are even widening. There is a need to think of new initiatives in response to these global health challenges. One such response is social finance. Social finance is about creating social returns. This innovative and rapidly growing sector promotes new ways of banking and funding social and public services. However, social finance has an under-recognised, and potentially underexploited, role in responding to specific aspects of global health challenges: funding and facilitating access to health(care) services and acting on health. The objectives of this book are to conceptualise and evidence different forms of social finance - microfinance and impact bonds - acting in these ways and to critically engage with current debates and challenges. With such evidence to hand, we can either avoid adoption of new trends in financing public services or, more hopefully, attract greater policy support and resources for new tools for public health and in supporting more precarious, but potentially essential, parts of the finance sector. This book will be essential reading to students, researchers, policymakers and the general public alike who are interested in, or who work in, and across, health systems and social finance.

This book compiles and explains technical terms in sustainable finance in an easy-to-navigate A-Z format.The interdisciplinary nature of sustainable finance means that those researching and working in the field often have to turn to a variety of different sources to look up various non-financial terms. Recognizing this issue, Ibrahim Sancak and Elisa Aracil have curated a comprehensive list of the key terms most commonly used in the field. Each entry maps out an important concept or idea and illustrates how it relates more broadly across this growing discipline, such as the changes and innovations required by the financial sector to meet the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Overall, Essential Concepts of Sustainable Finance will enable readers to communicate more effectively about finance within the context of sustainability.With related terms and further reading included alongside the entries, this innovative and accessible volume will be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

Ethical finance involves financial practices that consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors affecting a borrower and/or its assets. This approach extends beyond traditional financial metrics, aiming to align investments and lending with principles promoting sustainability, social responsibility, and effective governance. While previously confined to specialized finance providers and investors supporting environmentally or socially focused enterprises, this paradigm has shifted into the mainstream. According to the Global Ethical Finance Forum, the management of ethically driven assets worldwide has exceeded $27 trillion, indicating a growing recognition of the importance of integrating ESG factors and values into financial considerations. Individual and professional investors increasingly acknowledge the pivotal role played by ESG variables in determining risk and reward. In the evolving landscape of investment and finance, ethical standards have become the norm, offering crucial safeguards for informed investment and finance decisions. Instances where funds and lenders are perceived to neglect appropriate ESG considerations in their decision-making processes now face heightened scrutiny and questioning. The Emerald Handbook of Ethical Finance and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Framework for Sustainable Development presents a novel perspective on ESG considerations and the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for sustainable development. This approach carries global and enduring implications.

The debate on connections between economic activity and socio-environmental impact has become increasingly relevant. As a result, ethical finance is emerging from its niche. However, the terms'ethical finance'and'sustainable finance'are often confused and overlapping, and the risk of greenwashing is high. Many authors suggest the need of a paradigm shift because the present economic system is no longer able to maintain a safe environment. Tim Jackson explicitly argues about the need of a future of'prosperity without growth'. From the experiences of ethical finance, we can identify some interesting tools to achieve that goal.This book explains how ethical finance works and which innovations it has engendered in financial and economic systems; clarifies the links between finance and ethics, going beyond Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, and offers an approach, which is vital for most financial sectors, from microcredit to impact investing; investigates the goals, constraints, and opportunities of environmental and social considerations in finance and explores the more innovative experiences in banking and investing. It helps readers understand the phenomena in depth, distinguishing the strategic, managerial, organizational, and risk practices of ethical finance. The authors adopt a holistic but critical approach, both with respect to the practices exercised by financial intermediaries, and with reference to new regulatory aspects. The book identifies the key issues and current challenges of ethical finance, both for financial operators and regulators. Several concrete international cases offer empirical comparisons of practices, and as such it will be an invaluable reference for academics and researchers who wish to deepen their knowledge of ethical finance.

Instead of being a means to an end, finance has become an end in itself and a master of economic actions and priorities. The role of ethics, culture and faith has been diminished by neoliberalism over the last forty years, such that we are living through a profound moral crisis, rising inequality and plutocracy. This practice is destroying the social and trust capital that already exists and is in need of replenishing. This pioneering book draws upon diverse wisdom traditions and their current living business practices to show that not only is another world possible, but it is actually hiding in plain sight. The author argues that our obsession with technocratic economic science has disabled us from exposing the organic and culturally diverse practices of finance. The climate and inequality crises demand new institutional and cultural solutions to transform behaviour and heal the planet. Through real-life examples and case studies, this book illustrates and develops a new organic theory of finance which can be taught and shared all over the world, helping society to prepare for a sustainable and inclusive future. It provides valuable empowerment to experts and professionals from different cultures and traditions to write about their own finance practices and in turn encourage their students and communities to embrace sustainability ideals. There is a global audience for this book, given its multicultural outlook and the diversity of narratives and case studies, from entrepreneurs to MBA students and leaders in accounting and finance. It also has huge relevance for policymakers and educators keen on embracing sustainable finance in their curriculum.

Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain for Social Impact provides an accessible overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technologies, and explores their applications for social enterprise and impact investing.The opening chapter introduces the impact space, exploring different social business models, the role of technology, the impact investing market and general problems in the space. The remainder of this book falls into two paths: the first focusing on AI and the other looking at the blockchain technology. Providing introductions to each of these technologies and their histories, the author goes on to examine them from the perspectives of social business models and impact finance. A concluding chapter explores AI and cryptocurrencies in the impact space in the future. Readers are supported with international case studies and other student-friendly features.Situated at the intersection between technology, fintech, social enterprise, impact investing and social impact, this book is a valuable resource for upper-level courses across all these areas. It also offers an introduction to this emerging topic for researchers and business professionals.Online teaching resources to accompany this book include instructor lecture slides and data sets.

Conventional explanations of the nature of money are weighed down by bad ideas and irrelevant historical evidence. The standard theory of finance is hampered by the lack of both sociological and ethical contextualization, and by sloppy thinking about numbers and time. Money, Finance, Reality, Morality addresses those weaknesses with truly novel models of how the economy, money, and finance actually work. The book analyses the perception of money as an economic tool (as compared to a symbolic and sociological object) as a highly functional quantitative token that assigns numerical values to the inherently unmeasurable economic activities of labour and consumption. It looks at finance as an often inferior solution to economic problems and a tool for helping the poor support the rich. And it explains how the tolerance of greed makes the money-finance system the weakest link in modern economies. Money, Finance, Reality, Morality, written without jargon or maths, will be of interest to students, teachers and practitioners in economics and finance, government and politics, religion, philosophy, and sociology. Author: Edward Hadas is a Research Fellow at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University (UK). He was formerly an economics editor and columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He also worked on the Financial Times'influential Lex column, following 25 years as a financial analyst with firms such as Morgan Stanley and Putnam Investments.

Part of The Elgar Series on Central Banking and Monetary Policy, this book explores the relationship between central banking, monetary policy and the economy at large. It focuses on the specific relationship between central banking, monetary policy and social responsibility as central banks wake up to new realities.The book examines this relationship not only in connection to the economic, monetary and financial impact of the so-called ‘unconventional'monetary policies, but also in connection to the functioning of today's democracies. A new framework and model for central banking is proposed in this rethinking of monetary policy, and the role of central banks as institutions in democracies is considered.Scholars and students interested in central banking and monetary policy, the issue of social responsibility and the relationship between central banks and democracy will benefit from the ideas presented by the editors and authors of Central Banking, Monetary Policy and Social Responsibility.

Ethical discourse is commonly not a priority in a conventional finance syllabus. Moral sentiments often take a back seat to market sentiments, even in shaping the direction of ethical finance business. This anomaly persists despite growing interest in ethical finance. Taking an interdisciplinary and diverse perspective, this book enriches the evolving definition and scope of ethical finance literature by focusing on actors, products and regulation that shape markets. Considering the gap between theory and practice, this book bridges academic and professional knowledge in unpacking ethical and governance issues in the financial industry. In an effort to include as many viewpoints as possible, regardless of popularity or who holds them, the book editors gathered thoughts from diverse fields, including accounting, economics, ethics, finance, governance, law, management, philosophy and religion. Appealing to academic and non-academic stakeholders with an interest in ethics and finance,this book is the result of and a testament to a distinct educational and public engagement project that included different generations and communities, for future reference.

This handbook examines ethics in finance responses to the main challenges in finance, accounting and organizations in the 21st century. It addresses a broad array of topics, including the ethics of risk management in financial markets, professionalism and codes, responsibility of financiers, trust and fidelity, microfinance, electronic trading, crisis, scandals, and sustainability. The financialization of the economy, technological payments and digitalization of banking, combined with the inclusion of non-traditional “financial” entities in the market, will radically change the financial ecosystem as we know it. The resulting new scenario is still diffuse, bound to encounter important problems, and will require ethical reflection. This book provides a compendium of works on ethics in finance, and serves as a reference to both researchers and practitioners in the field. It will help those who are already anticipating the ethical reflection about new scenarios in finance, advanced financial products, or emergent financial market situations.

This book continues the discussion on recent developments relating to ethical and sustainable issues in accounting & finance from Ethics and Sustainability in Accounting and Finance, Volume I. Accounting is often seen as a technical discipline that records, classifies and reports financial transactions. However, since the financial information produced concerns all interest groups both within and outside the enterprise, accounting also has social characteristics and involves multi-faceted duties and responsibilities. As such, in addition to basic principles and accepted rules and standards in the field, this book focuses on the ethical aspects and fundamentals of this profession that accountants should also take into consideration, as this is the only way to build and preserve society's confidence in accounting and increase its social credibility.

La finanza ci circonda: è dentro ogni cosa che facciamo e non possiamo ignorarla. Può far avverare i nostri sogni ma anche costruire incubi. Offre opportunità ma ci espone a rischi. E se la finanza suscita da sempre reazioni forti e contrastanti, la finanziarizzazione del mondo solleva oggi questioni filosofi che profonde. Già Aristotele sosteneva che «il guadagno che proviene dal denaro stesso è tra le forme di guadagno più contrarie alla natura». Eppure l'innovazione finanziaria è stata un fattore indispensabile per l'avanzamento dell'uomo dalla condizione di sussistenza alla prosperità materiale. Sterco del diavolo o grande innovazione umana: comunque la si voglia guardare, il denaro e con esso la finanza è una delle grandi forze che plasmano la contemporaneità. E se da una parte la diffidenza verso di essa pare motivata dalle ricorrenti crisi, dall'altra non si può dimenticare come il complesso sistema di pesi e contrappesi e di fiducia reciproca su cui il sistema finanziario si basa, renda possibili benefici non solo finanziari sempre più grandi. A partire da tali premesse, il libro si interroga sul ruolo delle macchine nella finanza, sulla natura dei mercati finanziari, sulla relazione tra finanza e politica, finanza ed etica, finanza e potere, nella convinzione che oggi più che mai un'indagine filosofica è tra le poche cose sensate che si possano fare sulla e per la finanza.

Since the Global Financial Crisis, a surge of interest in the use of finance as a tool to address social and economic problems suggests the potential for a generational shift in how the finance industry operates and is perceived. J. C. de Swaan seeks to channel the forces of well-intentioned finance professionals to improve finance from within and help restore its focus on serving society. Drawing from inspiring individuals in the field, de Swaan proposes a framework for pursuing a viable career in finance while benefiting society and upholding humanistic values. In doing so, he challenges traditional concepts of success in the industry. This will also engage readers outside of finance who are concerned about the industry's impact on society.

Endorsed by the Chartered Banker Institute as core reading for its professional qualifications, Culture, Conduct and Ethics in Banking emphasizes the importance of professionalism for banks, and explores how all staff play a key role in putting customers at the heart of their business. Taking an applied approach, it aims to develop the reader's capability to: recognize and contribute towards balanced outcomes for consumers and organizations; understand the impact of reputational deficit; and understand the personal impact of an individual in the workplace.From a discussion of the main branches of ethical thinking to an overview of regulation and legislation in the UK and internationally, this book covers the theory and practice of conduct and professionalism in banking. Chapters contain activities and industry case studies, and further reading and viewing suggestions are included to help develop a deeper understanding of the topics covered. With fully referenced discussion of conflicts of interest, decision making models, the role of professional bodies, corporate governance, conduct risk management and the Global Financial Crisis 2007-08, Culture, Conduct and Ethics in Banking is the essential guide for finance professionals.

Corporate activities are not only drivers of economic growth but also key actors of the changes towards more sustainable markets and environment as well as inclusive development. Significant efforts have recently been devoted to transform private and public firms alike from pure economic-oriented organizations to entities that deliberately and diligently create value without neglecting social and environmental implications of their activities. Firm performance, resilience, and survival are nowadays, more than ever before, dependent on how they consciously and purposefully engage in appropriate corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and actions.This book, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethics and Sustainable Prosperity, will provide all readers, including investors, managers, lawmakers, and policymakers with an up-to-date, comprehensive, and thoughtful coverage of CSR and ethical issues at the crossroads of different finance and management disciplines. It contains a rich collection of insightful studies covering a wide range of topics in corporate ethics, CSR, and sustainable prosperity. Together, these studies help readers deepen their knowledge on different country environments and various organizational forms, policies, and activities. The book is composed of 16 chapters which are divided into two interconnected parts: Part I addresses ESG and ethical issues in corporate decision-making, while Part II provides insights towards sustainable prosperity.

L'éthique des affaires est mise en œuvre par un ensemble des règles, codes ou principes qui orientent les décisions des entreprises vers plus de morale et de transparence. La question de l'éthique des affaires dans le secteur bancaire est d'autant plus pertinente que la crise qui frappe les économies nationales et l'économie mondiale est largement attribuée à l'irresponsabilité de la sphère financière. L'auteur, par une enquête minutieuse au sein des milieux financiers, cherche à repérer les types d'éthique (pour autant que l'éthique existe explicitement au sein des banques) qui s'appliquent dans les organisations, les formes qu'elle prend, les initiateurs des mesures qui s'y associent, ainsi que les manières dont l'éthique est pensée d'une part et gérée d'autre part. L'objectif de l'ouvrage est d'éclairer, voire de comprendre, l'attitude et le comportement des banques vis-à-vis de l'éthique　: entre dynamisme et pragmatisme, en passant par l'opportunisme, entre formalisation institutionnelle et adaptation à la complexité des situations, entre responsabilité attribuée et responsabilité distribuée.

Finance is the evil we cannot live without. It governs almost every aspect of our lives and has the power to liberate as well as enslave. With the world's total financial assets--valued at a staggering $300 trillion--being four times larger than the combined output of all the world's economies, there is, apparently, plenty to go around. Yet, while proponents of finance-driven capitalism point to the trickle-down effect as its contribution to wealth redistribution, there are still nearly a billion people across the globe existing on less than $2 a day; 14 percent of Americans are living below the official poverty line; and disparities in wealth equality everywhere have reached unprecedented levels. Evidently a trickle is not enough. How can this be when so much wealth abounds, and when finance is supposedly chastened and reformed after its latest global crisis? How, especially, can it be in an age when human rights are more loudly proclaimed than ever before? Can the financial sector be made to shoulder more of the burden of spreading wealth, reducing poverty, and protecting rights? And if so, what role can human rights play in making it happen? In answering these questions, David Kinley draws on a vast array of material from bankers, economists, lawyers, and politicians, as well as human rights activists, philosophers, historians and anthropologists, alongside his own experiences working in the field. Necessary Evil shows how finance can shed its conceit, return to its role as the economy's servant not its master, and regain the public trust and credibility it has so spectacularly lost over the past decade--all by helping human rights, not harming them.

This collection of essays, by some of the most distinguished public intellectuals and cultural critics in America explores various dimensions of what it means to live in the age of debt. They ask, what is the debt age? For that matter, what is debt? Is its meaning transhistorical or transcultural? Or is it imbued in ideology and thus historically contingent? What is the relationship between debt and theory? Whose debt is acknowledged and whose is ignored? Who is the paradigmatic subject of debt? How has debt affected contemporary academic culture? Their responses to these and other aspects of debt are sure to become required reading for anyone who wants to understand what it means to live in the debt age.

Well-functioning financial markets are crucial for the economic well-being and the justice of contemporary societies. The Great Financial Crisis has shown that a perspective that naively trusts in the self-regulating powers of free markets cannot capture what is at stake in understanding and regulating financial markets. The damage done by the Great Financial Crisis, including its distributive consequences, raises serious questions about the justice of financial markets as we know them. This volume brings together leading scholars from political theory, law, and economics in order to explore the relation between justice and financial markets. Broadening the perspective from a purely economic one to a liberal egalitarian one, the volume explores foundational normative questions about how to conceptualize justice in relation to financial markets, the biases in the legal frameworks of financial markets that produce unjust outcomes, and perspectives of justice on specific institutions and practices in contemporary financial markets. Written in a clear and accessible language, the volume presents analyses of how financial markets (should) function and how the Great Financial Crisis came about, proposals for how the structures of financial markets could be reformed, and analysis of why reform is not happening at the speed that would be desirable from a perspective of justice.

From the marble trading floors of Wall Street to the dirt floor of a microfinance lender in rural Sumatra, finance touches everybody's lives. From small personal loans to collateralised debt obligations, it promises solutions for a better, more prosperous future. But not much in life is guaranteed, and financial outcomes may not match consumer expectations. When trust between practitioners and their clients is undermined it threatens the very fabric of our financial system. The result can be personal disappointment, but the financial crisis of 2007-08 highlighted how we can all be affected when economies are jeopardised by financial mismanagement.A Matter of Trust explores how the finance sector can stand as a true profession and provides a practical guide to make everyday business decisions in an ethically sound way.

Following the internationalisation, globalisation and deregulation of the financial market over the last few decades, the financial sector has evolved from a servicing industry into an initiating and leading sector in the international industrialised economy. The power of the financial sector, including Credit Rating Agencies, determines the creditworthiness of companies and countries. Today's financial sector dominates instead of serving the real economy, which puts substantial pres - sure on all the agencies involved, not least the banks, to make the profits that will drive economic growth. As a result of this pressure, moral conduct in the financial sector has been put under severe strain.This book examines the experience of the recent financial crisis and argues that a firmer ethical grounding for the financial sector is required to prevent the crisis being repeated. The book offers a model for making judgements on financial markets, institutions and products. The model is built on seven major criteria which are examined in depth: Justice, Nature, Sustainability, Legality, Risk and Return, the Stakeholder model and Monism. This multidisciplinary approach integrates philosophy, economics and law to arrive at a new normative approach to financial ethics.This book is a must-read for finance students at academic levels but also for professionals in the financial sector, who can be helped by implementing the model of NFE in solving financial dilemmas.

From the mid-1970s until the crisis in 2007, the world of finance enjoyed thirty euphoric years as the general public, businesses and governments put their blind trust in financial techniques, professions and institutions. Shaken up by a structural crisis and a crisis of legitimacy, today's financial sector can no longer afford to avoid the issues summed up by the key question: what is next for the role of ethics and responsibility in finance? Many see an unbridgeable gap between ethics and responsibility and financial practice. Ethics and Responsibility in Finance paves the way for the dialogue that is needed in order to solve the current problems and allow the return of a refined ethical thinking in the financial sector.This book opens with an in-depth analysis of the operational implications of two key notions: ethics and responsibility. It then addresses ethical dilemmas that are characteristic to each of the three actors involved in any financial transaction. This begins with the discussion of the dilemmas of the ultimate owner of funds: the individual or collective saver, as in the case of pension funds. The analysis then turns to financial intermediaries such as banks, insurance companies, asset managers, and consultants, who work in a web of different loyalties. Finally, the dilemmas of the user of funds are addressed – the household taking a mortgage, an enterprise or a public authority which borrows – all of which have to be clear on the reasons and values driving their decisions.This volume is of great interest to those who study banking, corporate finance and ethics philosophy.

In der Finanzindustrie zeichnen sich neue Spielregeln ab. Neben finanzieller Rendite gewinnen nicht-ökonomische Motive an Bedeutung: Anleger fordern nachhaltige Investments, Banken positionieren sich als sozial und umweltbewusst und Kapitalmarktakteure müssen die Verteilung von gesellschaftlichem Risiko und privatem Gewinn als fair legitimieren. Dieser transdisziplinäre Sammelband vereinigt Forschungsresultate, kritische Reflexionen und Denkanstösse führender Expertinnen und Experten aus den Bereichen Investment, Bankmanagement, Finanzethik und Moraltheologie aus der Schweiz, Deutschland, Österreich, Kanada und den USA.

This book presents an ethical theory for financial transactions that underpins the stability of modern economies. It combines elements from history, ethics, economics and mathematics to show how these combined can be used to develop a pragmatic theory of financial markets. Written in three sections; section one examines the co-evolution of finance and mathematics in an ethical context by focusing on three periods: pre-Socratic Greece, Western Europe in the thirteenth century and North-western Europe in the seventeenth century to demonstrate how the historical development of markets and finance were critical in the development of European ideas of science and democracy. Section two interprets the evidence presented in section one to provide examples of the norms reciprocity, sincerity and charity and introduce the pragmatic theory. Section three uses the pragmatic theory to interpret recent financial crises, address emergent phenomena and relate the theory to alternative contemporary theories of markets. Presenting a unique synthesis of mathematical and behavioural approaches to finance this book provides explicit ethical guidance that will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike.

The financial crisis of 2008 has led to a re-evaluation of the role of financial institutions and their relationship with the wider economy and society. This process has meant an increased questioning of both the conduct of business itself and the principles behind commercial and financial activities. Yet non-western voices have been notably absent from this debate, as have alternatives to the dominant western-derived economic ideologies. From the ancient spiritual wisdom or Dharma of the Jains, there emerges a practical modern philosophy fully in tune with the re-emergence of India as a global economic power. Jain individuals, businesses and charities have played a powerful role in India's rise and within the global Indian Diaspora. Jain communities are noted everywhere for their contributions to business, the professions and science. These successes are based on the principles of interdependence and co-operation, with an emphasis on long-term consolidation rather than short-term bursts of growth. Researchers and students interested in the ethics of finance, accounting and economics will find Jainism and Ethical Finance a scholarly and illuminating evaluation of Jain Dharma as a non-western case study. In the light of current concerns about the way global finance and banking systems operate, this book offers a timely alternative perspective..

A presentation of the most compelling issues at the intersection of today's global economy and Catholic social teaching.

This book seeks to explore the ethical dimensions of economic governance through an engagement with Adam Smith and a critical analysis of economistic understandings of the Global Financial Crisis. It examines ethical and political dilemmas associated with key aspects of the financialisation of Anglo-American economy and society, including systems of asset-based welfare, modern risk management and debt.In the wake of the financial crisis, recognition of the way in which everyday lives and life chances are tied into global finance is widespread. Yet few contributions in IPE explicitly tackle this issue as a question of ethics. By developing Adam Smith's under-utilised account of how market-oriented behaviour is constituted through a process of ‘sympathy', this book provides an innovative way of understanding contemporary issues of economic governance and the possibilities and limits for intervention within it. By taking Adam Smith's moral philosophy seriously, it becomes evident that the ever-deeper enmeshing of finance in our everyday lives is a failed experiment.Turning the common understanding of Smith on its head, we can also turn accepted wisdom about the recent financial crisis on its head and see the urgency of making better known the ethico-political contestation that lies at the heart of financial market relations. It will be of interest to students and scholars of IPE as well as those across the social sciences who wish to question the foundations of contemporary economy and society.

As a response to ongoing economic, social and environmental crises, many private actors have enlarged their definition of'value'to include environmental and social elements. Such practices, however, appear incompatible with the current epistemological structure of academic financial discourse. This paradox challenges us to reconsider the foundations of modern finance, particularly the dominant role of shareholders. The volume argues there is a need to turn the established order upside down. Studies in economics and finance have to be embedded in environmental and social welfare to answer the challenges we face, and there is a need for a radical break with the methodological individualism that dominates economics, management and (especially) finance. It is our responsibility to question social welfare when it is defined only as maximising shareholder value. Should we instead promote a substitute to the shareholder? How should we (re)define the concept of value? This volume serves as a stepping stone for rethinking academic finance, and attempts to carve out innovative paths for financial research in the 21st century.

Despite social and economic advances around the world, poverty and disease persist, exacerbated by the mounting challenges of climate change, natural disasters, political conflict, mass migration, and economic inequality. While governments commit to addressing these challenges, traditional public and philanthropic dollars are not enough. Here, innovative finance has shown a way forward: by borrowing techniques from the world of finance, we can raise capital for social investments today. Innovative finance has provided polio vaccines to children in the DRC, crop insurance to farmers in India, pay-as-you-go solar electricity to Kenyans, and affordable housing and transportation to New Yorkers. It has helped governmental, commercial, and philanthropic resources meet the needs of the poor and underserved and build a more sustainable and inclusive prosperity. Capital and the Common Good shows how market failure in one context can be solved with market solutions from another: an expert in securitization bundles future development aid into bonds to pay for vaccines today; an entrepreneur turns a mobile phone into an array of financial services for the unbanked; and policy makers adapt pay-for-success models from the world of infrastructure to human services like early childhood education, maternal health, and job training. Revisiting the successes and missteps of these efforts, Georgia Levenson Keohane argues that innovative finance is as much about incentives and sound decision-making as it is about money. When it works, innovative finance gives us the tools, motivation, and security to invest in our shared future.

The solution to the uninhibited lending that was commonplace before the financial crisis has been to introduce tighter regulation to ensure robustness within banks. However, this solution has overlooked the underlying problem of ethical failure in the industry. In the wake of numerous bank collapses, many survivors continue in unprincipled conduct because ethical virtues have not been instilled. This book investigates the ethical basis of banking practice. It explores the conflict between the interests of banks and their customers, and how this conflict plays out in relation to the lending policies and fee structures of banks. Where such lending policies have a significant effect on banks, their customers and a range of stakeholders, the author investigates the views of leading bankers on their lending practices. The author then goes on to debate the events of the global financial crisis from a moral perspective, and argues that ethical failure triggered the American sub-prime calamities which have devastated homeowners and the global economy. The book argues that American banks and regulators both operated on the erroneous supposition that the quest after extreme profits would be restrained by free market forces. Where banks have a central role and importance in all commerce and hence in all societies, the author concludes by revealing a set of virtues that are necessary for banks to espouse moral conduct. He suggests that these virtues can be embedded through leadershipand cultural change, with the aim of developing an account of the virtues appropriate to bankers and banking.

Investing with Impact: Why Finance Is a Force for Good outlines the roadmap to reinvigorating a skeptical public and demoralized financial services industry by making the case that, contrary to popular misconception, finance is not the cause of the world's problems; in fact, it can provide the solution. Author Jeremy Balkin presents the case that the finance industry can improve the state of the world by positively influencing the allocation of capital. Investing With Impact explains the methodology of Balkin's 6 E Paradigm, opening the toolbox to this revolutionary framework for the first time. In so doing, Balkin expands the impact investment universe, enabling mainstream capital to flow where opportunities generate positive investment returns and have demonstrable social impact. Described by the Huffington Post as the'Anti-Wolf of Wall Street,'Balkin is challenging the status quo on Wall Street by leading the intellectual debate embracing the $1 trillion frontier impact investment market opportunity. The book demonstrates conclusively that, if we can change the culture in finance, we can change the world for the better.

In this topical book, Boudewijn de Bruin examines the ethical'blind spots'that lay at the heart of the global financial crisis. He argues that the most important moral problem in finance is not the'greed is good'culture, but rather the epistemic shortcomings of bankers, clients, rating agencies and regulators. Drawing on insights from economics, psychology and philosophy, de Bruin develops a novel theory of epistemic virtue and applies it to racist and sexist lending practices, subprime mortgages, CEO hubris, the Madoff scandal, professionalism in accountancy and regulatory outsourcing of epistemic responsibility. With its multidisciplinary reach, Ethics and the Global Financial Crisis will appeal to scholars working in philosophy, business ethics, economics, psychology and the sociology of finance. The many concrete examples and case studies mean that this book will also prove useful to policy-makers and regulators.

Since 2008, the financial sector has been the subject of extensive criticism. Much of this criticism has focused on the morality of the actors involved in the crisis and its extended aftermath. This book analyses the key moral and political philosophical issues of the crisis and relates them to the political economy of finance. It also examines to what extent the financial sector can or should be reformed.This book is unified by the view that the financial sector had been a self-serving and self-regulating elite consumed by greed, speculation and even lawlessness, with little sense of responsibility to the wider society or common good. In light of critical analysis by authors from a variety of backgrounds and persuasions, suggestions for reform and improvement are proposed, in some cases radical reform. By placing the world of finance under a microscope, this book analyses the assumptions that have led from hubris to disgrace as it provides suggestions for an improved society.Rooted in philosophical reflection, this book invites a critical reassessment of finance and its societal role in the 21st century. This book will be of interest to academics, politicians, central bankers and financial regulators who wish to improve the morality of finance.

Wariboko offers a critical-philosophical perspective on the logics and dynamics of finance capital in the twenty-first century in order to craft a model of the care of the soul that will enable citizens to not only better negotiate their economic existences and moral evaluations within it, but also resist its negative impact on social life.

As a result of the recent financial crisis, new ways of doing finance have developed, creating alternatives to the regular financial system. This book explores non-conventional banking and financing mechanisms in detail, with case studies and examples in which these alternative methods have succeeded.

The third edition of Ethics in Finance presents an authoritative and wide-ranging examination of the major ethical issues in finance. This new edition has been expanded and thoroughly updated with extensive coverage of the recent financial crisis and the very latest developments within the financial world. Substantially updated new edition with nearly 40% new material, including sections on credit cards, mortgage lending, microfinance, risk management, derivatives, and securitization Includes coverage and references to the recent financial crisis and the very latest developments within the financial world Focuses on the practical issues that confront finance professionals, policy makers, and consumers of financial services Cites examples of the scandals that have shaken public confidence in Wall Street and world financial markets Includes numerous examples throughout to illustrate the concepts and issues described within the text

Das Buch widmet sich dem Verhältnis von demokratisch legitimierter Politik und Finanzwirtschaft aus der Perspektive einer politischen Wirtschaftsethik: Welche neuen Regeln sollten aus ethischer Sicht für die Finanzwirtschaft eingeführt werden? Wie kann zudem gewährleistet werden, dass diese bei den Akteuren Akzeptanz finden? Der Autor analysiert die Mechanismen der (Selbst-)Regulierung innerhalb eines zunehmend marktorientierten Finanzsystems und entwickelt anwendungssensible Handlungsempfehlungen für politische Verantwortungsträger. Die vorgelegten Kriterien einer ethisch qualifizierten Finanzsektorpolitik helfen dabei, die aktuellen Regulierungsdiskurse kritisch zu bewerten.

Discussing ethics applied to finance can become a trivial and selfjustifying task if left to the practical men, or a task with no connection to reality, if performed by philosophers. This book, however, turns out to be an exciting piece of work, useful, provocative, full of ideas and suggestions, as experts in ethics discuss specific issues related to the financial institutions and markets, with the men and women that carry out the daily practice in such institutions and markets, as well as with scholars of economics and finance. Thus, the book covers everything from daily subjects to issues of a deeper nature, using a simple and clear language with solid foundations in economics and ethics, from a necessarily plural and open perspective.

Financial Ethics: A Positivist Analysis provides a positivist framework for the study of financial ethics built on a broad review of mainstream scholarly research. An objective of this book is to demonstrate that ethics is already an important part of financial research, and therefore the approach taken here is more of a'rediscovery'of the ethical dimension of financial economics. The text discusses several examples in which an ethics-centered approach to understanding economic phenomena is similar in spirit to other frameworks which have been applied in positive financial research. Several'financial ethical technologies'are discussed that enhance economic value by mitigating moral risks in exchange.

A groundbreaking exploration of the critical ethical issues in financial theory and practice Compiled by volume editor John Boatright, Finance Ethics consists of contributions from scholars from many different finance disciplines. It covers key issues in financial markets, financial services, financial management, and finance theory, and includes chapters on market regulation, due diligence, reputational risk, insider trading, derivative contracts, hedge funds, mutual and pension funds, insurance, socially responsible investing, microfinance, earnings management, risk management, bankruptcy, executive compensation, hostile takeovers, and boards of directors. Special attention is given to fairness in markets and the delivery of financial services, and to the duties of fiduciaries and agents Rigorous analysis of the topics covered provides essential information and practical guidance for practitioners in finance as well as for students and academics with an interest in finance ethics Ethics in Finance skillfully explains the need for ethics in the personal conduct of finance professionals and the operation of financial markets and institutions.

Die letzte Finanzkrise mit ihren gravierenden Auswirkungen auf die Weltwirtschaft führt vor Augen: Der globale Finanzmarkt hat sich von der Realwirtschaft weitgehend losgekoppelt. Um solche Krisen in Zukunft zu verhindern, gilt es, die Finanzmärkte an der menschengerechten Gestaltung des Globalisierungsprozesses wirksam zu beteiligen und damit gesellschaftlich einzubinden. Dies würde nicht nur der zusammenwachsenden Weltgemeinschaft, sondern auch der Effizienz des globalen Finanzmarktes dienen. Zu einer Globalisierung der Menschenrechte hat die Finanzindustrie einen entscheidenden Beitrag zu leisten. Mit dieser Zielsetzung ist in theologischer Perspektive eine Wirtschaftsethik als Ethik der Anreizstrukturen für Unternehmen und Unternehmer in der Finanzbranche zu entwickeln. Welche Rolle kommt dabei den institutionellen Investoren, den viel geschmähten Hedgefonds, den Rating-Agenturen, den Banken, der Bankenaufsicht und den großen internationalen Finanzinstitutionen zu? Die Reform der Finanzmärkte muss innerhalb der Wirtschaftsstrukturen selbst beginnen, wenn der Nationalstaat nicht zum allmächtigen Regulierer verkommen soll.

The first book ever to integrate business ethics with financial economics, Finance Ethics shows how ethical behavior fits within the rational, profit-maximizing finance paradigm. Dobson argues that even in economic terms the finance paradigm has a serious flaw: it views the firm and financial markets in general as contractual nexuses, yet it fails to supply adequate mechanisms for enforcing those contractual relations. Finance Ethics is therefore not just a moral critique of the finance paradigm, arguing that self-interested profit making must be constrained by ethics. Rather, it is a critique from within that paradigm, in which truth becomes a rational mechanism to enforce contracts, and virtuous behavior is shown to make the most business sense.