Managing Public and Private Interests

Coordinator: Carlos Ramirez

Traditionally the economic realm has been divided into two distinct sectors:  the public and the private. These two notions have emerged along with, on the one hand, the development of the bureaucratic Nation-State, and, on the other, the emergence of the modern corporation.  The frontier between what is public and what is private has been constantly moving, not least because, in many countries, the State has taken upon itself until the late 20^th century the right to organise economic activity and in particular that of owning and managing large chunks of the private sector.

However, in the past thirty years the tendency has been reversed. The spread of neo-liberal beliefs regarding economic and social life has brought a “rolling-back of the State” and private ways of managing have been increasingly applied in the public sector in order to enhance its performance.  More recently, collaborative schemes, such as the “Public Private Partnerships” have been set up, both in developed and developing countries, as a solution for the operation of public services and with the view of combining some form of democratic control with the presumed greater efficiency of private management.

It seems thus to be the right time for a reflection on the relations between the public and the private. This course offers such reflection, inviting participants, at the same time to look back on the history of the relation, in order to understand what is at stake in current debates, as well as to explore in detail several of the modalities of this relation, ranging from the aforementioned Private Public Partnerships to the defence of property rights against piracy or to the creeping privatisation of accounting standards setting. [more...]

Institutions and Corporate Governance Around the World

Coordinator: Denisa Mindruta

In spite of increasing globalization forces pressing for a single dominant economic system, business systems and their governing institutions differ tremendously across countries. This course examines the interaction between political economies, business firms, and financial markets in the contemporary world. By providing a rigorous foundation for understanding the opportunities and constraints that business enterprises face in a wide range of different national settings, the course can serve as the basis for both managerial practice and public policy. The course should be of particular interest to students that aim to gain exposure and perspective to the challenges of managing and/or designing policies in various leading and emerging European countries, the United States, and Japan. The objectives of this course are:

• To develop an understanding of why different configurations of business systems continue to exist across the world
• Understand what consequences these differences have on firm strategies and market operations [more...]

Social Entrepreneurship

Coordinators: Samuel Touboul & Anne Servantie

Nowadays most entrepreneurs plan for a company that will be both economically & socially sustainable. They face a dilemma between making their living from their new venture and actively participating in social welfare, thus often try to make ends meet with their own social entrepreneurship project. A variety of success stories exist around social entrepreneurship, but a lot of failure stories too. What are the key factors of success for social entrepreneurs? Can a new venture be both profitable and socially responsible?

This course aims at providing keys to successfully launch a socially & environmentally responsible company. The course will cover each aspects of a sustainable business plan and try to emphasize the strategic aspect of social responsibility for Small and Medium Enterprises. Students will be given the opportunity to both discuss real case studies and interact with responsible entrepreneurs, investors and NGOs. This course is adapted for students who later plan to launch their own business, apply the M2 entrepreneurship specialization or the Social Business Track. [more...]

Responsible Investing

Coordinators: Diane-Laure Arjaliès & Afshin Mehrpouya

The course provides a strategic and technical understanding of the investment risks and opportunities related to the environment and social performance of the firms. The course attempts to provide coverage of the following topics:

• The history and evolution of responsible investments.
• Environmental and social risk and opportunity categories of the investment portfolios.
• Responsible investment markets place; the major product and investor categories.
• Different mechanisms used by investors to change firms’ environmental and social behavior.
• The responsible investment process and the types of careers that can be pursued in this area.

This course is suitable for students seeking careers in investment management who want to achieve a better understanding of the environmental and social portfolio risks and opportunities. It can be equally of interest to students specifically interested in or curious about responsible investments and thematic investments around the environmental and social issues. [more...]