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.
How will healthcare reform change the economy?
The highly contentious healthcare reform act passed in 2010 is being implemented over the next several years. Businesses, ranging from mom-and-pop operations to global corporations, are struggling to understand how it will affect them. Two healthcare experts with direct experience of policymaking and business decision making discuss what’s ahead.
Have you paid a bribe?
Corruption gums up the workings of a market economy—making legal activity less efficient, degrading the quality of institutions, and disadvantaging those who would behave ethically. A website in India aims to use the tools of social networking to start the wheels of positive change.
What's the business case for diversity?
A range of often subtle biases around gender roles pervade the workplace. SOM's Victoria Brescoll discusses the impact these biases have on women and men, successful approaches to inclusivity, and the business case for making changes.
Can solar bring power to India’s rural poor?
Harish Hande is the founder of SELCO, a social enterprise established in 1995. The company provides sustainable energy solutions and services to under-served households and businesses in rural parts of Karnataka and Gujarat. Can this "open-source organization" provide a model for powering economic development without devastating the environment?
Do we need more ecological intelligence?
Daniel Goleman, the author of the bestselling Emotional Intelligence, says that the growing field of industrial ecology can give us simple ways to evaluate the relative environmental impacts of consumer products
When is financial sustainability the wrong goal?
Should mission-driven nonprofits put money aside for a rainy day or spend what they have meeting the present needs of the people they serve?
Can the planet handle nine billion people?
Relentless population and economic growth is pressuring the systems that support human life. The head of a leading environmental advocacy organization talks about balancing ideals, such as the conservation of natural treasures, with the pragmatic steps and alliances necessary to get the planet on a sustainable path.
Where are the win-wins?
A step as simple as reducing the time that trucks idle can save money and cut emissions. An environmental advocacy group and a private equity firm have teamed up to uncover the sorts of efficiencies that further both of their missions.
What are the economics of happiness?
Economists have begun to use research into happiness to explore questions in economics, policy, and management. Betsey Stevenson of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania surveys the work in this emerging field.
Can coffee help juice economic development?
A nonprofit is teaching business skills to East African farmers in order to let them enter the high-profit global market for specialty coffee. The project showed enough promise to get $50 million in underwriting from the Gates Foundation, and now aims to reach 180,000 growers. David Browning ’99 of Technoserve describes how to educate small-hold farmers to plug into the global market.