Finance for a Better World : The Shift Toward Sustainability

What has prompted the shift toward sustainability in numerous financial areas? Can investors' mindsets be changed to embrace a long-term view? Can shareholders and activists play a greater role in encouraging financial actors to behave more responsibly? These are some of the relevant topics that are explored in this forward-looking set of essays.

Notes on the Contributors Introduction PART I: MICROFINANCE AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT: EVOLUTION AND IMPACT ON HUMAN RIGHTS Microfinance, Financial Inclusion and Social Responsibility; I.Guérin, M.Roesch & J-M.Servet Explaining the Take-Off of Socially Responsible Investment; P. Arena Socially Responsible Investment: Global Convergence or Local Divergence?; C.Louche The Use of Shareholder Proposals to Address Corporate Human Rights Performance; A.Kanzer PART II: ADOPTING A SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE IN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND MARKETS Sustainable Banking: The Banco Real Model; L.Johnson & C.Scholten Insurers'' Corporate Responsibility Policies: A Response to the Industry''s Bad Image?; H-C. de Bettignies, F.Lépineux & C.K.Tan The Relative Valuation of Socially Responsible Firms: An Exploratory Study; A.Fatemi, I.Fooladi & D. Wheeler Building the Case for Long-Term Investing in Stock Markets: Breaking Free from the Short-Term Measurement Dilemma; S. Lydenberg PART III: IS A PARADIGM SHIFT UNDERWAY? THREE PIONEERING REFLECTIONS Financing Agriculture in Developing Countries: Governance Models Promoting Sustainability; S. Morvant-Roux Innovative Investments for Sustainability: Solutions for the 21st Century; A. White Financialization: Limits and Ways Out; P.Dembinski & F.Vigano Conclusion: Manifesto of the Observatoir de la Finance References Index