Category Archives: environment

ESG investing, versus those who would ban it

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February 27, 2023 — The popular ESG movement advocates judging firms, not just by what they generate for shareholders in short-term profits, but by their emphasis on environmental, social, and governance goals.  The movement has its detractors, particularly in the United States.  A counter-movement is gathering steam. It would prohibit some financial institutions from investing in firms that follow ESG practices.

To be sure, ESG does warrant some skepticism.  Often, corporate commitments are essentially mere exercises in public relations.  But those who, in the name of economic freedom, would ban private investors from pursuing ESG goals are logically confused. read more

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Energy Policies Can Be Both Geopolitical & Green

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April 29, 2022 — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has amplified the importance of national security objectives when Western nations formulate energy policy.  At the same time, they should not take their eye off the ball of reducing environmental damage and, in particular, slowing down greenhouse gas emissions.  Both goals, geopolitical and environmental, are urgent.  The national security and environmental objective should be evaluated together, rather than via separate “stove pipes.”

Some talk as if the two goals are necessarily in conflict — because, for example, fighting back against Moscow by boosting domestic US oil production would contribute to air pollution and global climate change.  But there are plenty of steps that would benefit the environment and simultaneously further the geopolitical objective.  The most obvious steps, especially for the EU, are sanctions that cut demand for imports of fossil fuels from Russia. read more

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Maxims of Richard Zeckhauser and errors of commission

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July 14, 2021 — Richard Zeckhauser, my colleague at Harvard Kennedy School, is indeed legendary.  A book by Dan Levy, titled Maxims for Thinking Analytically: The wisdom of legendary Harvard Professor Richard Zeckhauser, has been released today.

I recommend it highly. This is not a collection of tangential papers published together in someone’s honor.  Rather each chapter consists of an immortal maxim of Richard’s together with applications to real-world decision-making, whether at the personal or public-policy level. There are 19 such pithy insights, such as “Think probabilistically about the world,” or “Good decisions sometimes have poor outcomes,” or “Eliminate regret.”  Dan skillfully weaves into each of his chapters concise contributions from a big set of Zeckhauser-admirers, including Max Bazerman, Jason Furman, Hsien Loong Lee, Jennifer Lerner, Barry Nalebuff, Larry Summers, among many others. read more

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