As US corporations backpedal furiously from their previous commitments on climate and diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is instructive to revisit the role of private corporations in society. In the first lecture, Dr. Rajan will examine theories of why we have corporations and draw from those what social responsibilities corporations might reasonably be expected to have. In the second lecture, Dr. Rajan will examine what large US corporate CEOs have said their corporations are doing in perhaps their most public formal statement, their annual letter to shareholders. He will analyze these letters from 1955. He will then discuss what we can conclude from the evidence and the theories on the role of corporations in society.
Raghuram Rajan, University of Chicago Booth School of Business