Corporations as Suppliers of Public Goods?

Corporations as Suppliers of Public Goods? THE MARKET FOR VIRTUE: THE POTENTIAL AND LIMITS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY By David Vogel 173 pages; Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2005

DAVID VOGEL, A POLITIcal scientist and professor of business ethics at the University of

California, Berkeley, has written a valuable analysis and summary of the massive literature on "corporate social responsibility"(CSR). His new book summarizes the evidence that bears on whether there is a business case for CSR, describes the demand for CSR by consumers, employees, and investors; describes the effects of CSR on working conditions in poor countries, on the environment, and on human rights; and concludes by making a case for an increased political role of corporations in promoting the goals of CSR.

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THE BUSINESS case Many corporate executives, apparently, want to be perceived as being socially responsible by the contemporary standards of their community. So they have made a case that CSR is essential to the business objectives of their corporations. For instance, Jeffrey Hollander, the CEO of household products maker Seventh Generation, claims that CSR is "the future of business. It's what . . . companies have to do to survive and prosper in a world where more and more of their behavior is under a microscope."