Social Impact
What Happens When Unions Bargain for Social Justice?
In a new study, Yale SOM’s James Baron and Daniel Julius examine the wave of unionization in museums, where workers often bring social-justice concerns to the bargaining table.
Can Social Innovation and Cross-Sectoral Collaboration Help Solve South Africa’s Problems?
Dr. Francois Bonnici of the University of Cape Town on navigating South Africa's turbulent social sector.
How Should Nonprofits Invest?
Sandra Urie ’85 of Cambridge Associates talks about helping clients find the right level of risk.
Balancing the Letter and the Spirit
Should organizations favor the dependable efficiency of rules and standards or a less calculated but more flexible operation that bends to accommodate individual situations? How about both?
What Does an Economist Make of the Ice Bucket Challenge?
Somehow ice and cold water have become the social media phenomenon of the summer. Millions of people have shivered and screamed while dumping buckets of ice over their own heads, and a medical charity has tens of millions of dollars raised as a result. Yale Insights spoke with Yale economist Florian Ederer to try to make sense of all of this.
Donors Give More When They Have a Sense of Belonging
Recent research, drawing on behavioral economics, suggests that donors make larger contributions to a nonprofit organization when they have a sense of active involvement in the organization's mission. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Professor Robert Shiller suggests that changes to legal and institutional structures could be powerful new tools to increase engagement and giving.
Can the B Corp Change Business?
Social enterprises seek to make profit while having a positive impact on communities. As a nascent and hybrid form of organization, social enterprises are vaguely defined. Might a certification process provide benefits for such organizations? Andrew Kassoy of the B Lab talks about the potential of the benefit corporation, or B Corp, to change the way business is done.
Does New York City Need Lincoln Center?
Performing arts organizations are contending with aging audiences and shrinking budgets, and looking for new ways to reach audiences. Yale Insights spoke with Jed Bernstein ’79, formerly a theatrical producer, as he prepared to begin his new job as president of Lincoln Center, the country’s biggest stage for classical music, opera, and dance and a pillar of New York City’s economy.
Can Insurance Help the Poor Manage Risk?
Rainfall insurance can help a farmer survive a drought year and ultimately increase prosperity in rural areas. So why aren’t more using it? Many people in developing countries rely on informal insurance, such as a family network, rather than formal insurance. Yale SOM professor Mushfiq Mobarak’s research has tested the effects of formal insurance for farmers in India and elucidated how the two systems interact.
What’s Next For Social Enterprise?
Social enterprises, ventures that seek to address significant societal problems while also achieving financial sustainability, have become a bigger part of the business world. Chuck Slaughter ’90, founder of Living Goods, discusses what it will take for the field to produce a breakout star.
What Do Social Entrepreneurs Do?
Four Yale SOM graduates who have founded and run organizations—both for-profit and nonprofit—that aim to have large-scale social impact talked about their experiences in the fast-developing field of social enterprise.
