Blog
Review of Vivek Ramaswamy’s Woke, Inc.
Vivek Ramaswamy—pharmaceutical entrepreneur, son of immigrants, Yale Law grad, Hindu, and political conservative—is a capitalist with a lot of strong criticism for big business today.
Blog
The Challenges of ESG Investing in Space
Last month, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion on the future of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing in the…
E&E News
Support Builds for Reversing Trump’s Limits on ESG Investing
E&E News cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison’s DOL letter on pension funds and ESG investing: To be sure, there will be detractors. Conservative and industry…
Blog
Can Pensions Be Saved from Political Mismanagement?
The Department of Labor is currently working on a new rule that would give pension fund managers greater leeway in considering non-financial criteria when…
National Review
How ESG Advocates Want to Redefine Your Retirement
Economic policy is changing fast in Washington, and your retirement account may soon experience the whiplash. One of the best policies enacted by the previous administration…
Comment
Comment on Proposed Rule “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights”
Assistant Secretary Khawar: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s recently proposed rule on the Investment Duties regulation under…
Newsweek
The Shaky Case for Mandating Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards
It’s a good time to be a female business executive in America. The percentage of firms with female CEOs is rising, and a …
Blog
New Analysis on ESG Investing: Friedman, Edmans, and Materiality
At times it seems like public events on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing are a dime a dozen; some think tank, consulting firm, or…
Fortune
Business can’t rally around climate goals until politicians turn those goals into law
Advocates of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing seem to have good reason to be optimistic these days. Virtually every day, another…
National Review
Will the Energy Crisis Be ESG’s Great Reset?
When it comes to the world of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, we’ve become used to Panglossian headlines about how every new development only …
Blog
Public Interest Groups Challenge Nasdaq Diversity Rule in Federal Court
Back in August, I wrote about the new board diversity requirements on Nasdaq-listed companies that had been approved by the Securities and Exchange…
Blog
Retro Review: The Social Responsibilities of Business (1970)
The Biblical book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “there is no new thing under the sun.” Even centuries before the modern era, our ancestors…
Blog
Federalist Society Experts Duel on Climate Risks and Regulation
Earlier this week, the Federalist Society presented a panel discussion titled “Corporate Social Responsibility, Investment Strategy, and Liability Risks” that addressed some important issues…
National Review
Conservatives Waking Up: ‘Responsible Investing’ Could Mean Left-Wing Control
We may finally be seeing a turning point in the world of “sustainable” and “responsible” investing. For the past two decades, those labels have been informed…
RealClear Policy
Don’t Force a One-size-fits-all Framework On Social Investors
Real Clear Policy
Don’t Force a One-size-fits-all Framework On Social Investors
Interest in environmental, social, and governance-themed, or ESG, investing has seen significant growth in recent years, but it has been matched by persistent complaints from…
Blog
Capitalism and Corporations: Respect Stakeholders, But Follow the Law
Last week the Law & Economics Center at George Mason University hosted a fascinating event here in Washington, D.C. on the debate over shareholder…
Blog
Nasdaq’s Board Diversity Rule Still a Mistake
On Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a new rule from Nasdaq that will require firms listed on that exchange to comply…
Blog
Do We All Deserve a Share of the World’s Natural Resources?
In early July I wrote an op-ed for Inside Sources, which was subsequently picked up by several newspapers, on why the United States should…
National Review
Forecast for the SEC: Storm’s a Comin’
The Biden-era Securities and Exchange Commission, led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has a lot on its plate, including potential action on everything from…
Law & Liberty
A Lawless Environmental Agenda
Recently a Dutch district court issued an unusual decision ordering oil company Royal Dutch Shell to dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by…
Inside Sources
The Case Against a Universal Basic Income
The financial dislocations of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the unprecedented cash benefits that policymakers implemented in response have sparked renewed interest in an old…
Real Clear Policy
Don’t Knock ‘Rainbow Capitalism’ – Business Is an Essential LGBT Ally
During last month’s pride celebrations, there was a lot of debate about corporations and their embrace of Pride Month. As with any popular holiday, corporate…
NNY 360
Richard Morrison (counterpoint): The case against a universal basic income
WASHINGTON — The financial dislocations of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the unprecedented cash benefits that policymakers implemented in response have sparked renewed interest in…
Blog
Reviewing SEC Climate Disclosure Comments
Earlier this week, I wrote a short summary of the comments from myself and my colleague Marlo Lewis to the Securities and…
Blog
Climate Disclosure Comments to the SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Allison Herren Lee solicited comments on climate change from the public back on March 15, and the deadline for…
Comment
Public Input on Climate Change Disclosures: Questions for Consideration
View Full Document as PDF Dear Commissioner Lee, Please find below comments from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) in response to selected questions…
The FinReg Blog
How Policymakers Can Defuse a Major Esg Threat to Shareholder Rights
Since 2004, when the term “ESG” was first used in a report published by the United Nations Global Compact, there has been an explosion of interest…
The Foundation for Economic Education
What ‘The Enduring Tension’ Can Teach Us about the Core Institutions of Our Civilization
Don Devine’s ambitious new volume is that rare published work that delivers an even larger and broader message than its title promises. A focus on…
Blog
Should the SEC Require More Climate Data from Public Companies?
This week, Case Western Reserve University law professor (and CEI alum) Jonathan Adler hosted a fascinating event titled “Climate Change, Financial Markets &…
National Review
When ‘Voluntary’ Becomes Obligatory — Regulatory Creep and the SEC
There was a time — not so long ago — when it was widely accepted that the primary purpose of a corporation was to generate return…
Blog
New Study: Defusing the ESG Threat to Shareholder Rights
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my new study on theories of enlightened investing, Environmental, Social, and Governance Theory: Defusing a Major Threat to…
Study
Frequently Asked Questions on ESG Theory
View Full Document as PDF Q: What does “ESG” stand for? A: ESG is short for “environmental, social, and governance.” It is a…
Fortune
The SEC May Get Tougher On ESG Claims—Shaking Things Up For Investors
As Gary Gensler takes the helm at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), he’ll face decisions on a raft of high-profile issues—including cryptocurrency, the …
News Release
Report: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Goals Remain Vague but Pose Major Threat
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report takes a close look at environmental, social, and governance (ESG) theory, a trending cause aimed at pressuring for-profit…
Study
Environmental, Social, and Governance Theory
View Full Document as PDF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The concept known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) theory has a long history of similar,…
Blog
Expect Search for Corporate Virtue to Get Increasingly Expensive
Last week I wrote about a video from the Financial Times that was meant to explain environmental social, and governance (ESG) investing. Despite…
Fox Business
SEC’s Gary Gensler Eyes Crypto And Climate Change With Confirmation Official
Fox Business cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison on ESG: ESG advocates are likely to try to stretch the definition of material as…
FEE
Got Woke: A Review of ‘The Dictatorship of Woke Capital’
How did corporate America, long considered one of the most conservative American institutions, become a lead protagonist in a culture war over all manner of…
Blog
Americans Ambivalent about Billionaire Influence, Reject Left-Wing Hostility
New polling, recently written up at Reason, shows that the American public isn’t nearly as hostile to capitalism, and the leaders of big…
Blog
Will Anyone Challenge the SEC’s Ever-Expanding Authority?
This question of redefining a government agency’s mission arose last week during an event hosted by George Mason University’s Center for the Study of…
National Review
SEC Unbound: Yet More Regulatory Creep
Federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have long varied in their focus and priorities, depending on their current leadership and the ideological composition…
Blog
Perspectives on “Woke Capital” and Politicized Investing
Recently, the Competitive Enterprise Institute hosted a virtual book event for Political Forum publisher Steve Soukup’s new book, The Dictatorship of Woke Capital:…
Comment
CEI Comment on NASDAQ Board Diversity Proposal
View Full Document as PDF Comment of Richard MorrisonResearch Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute[1]To the Securities and Exchange Commission In the…
Wealth Management
Gary Gensler Lays Out Enforcement Priorities at Senate Hearing
Wealth Management cites Research Fellow Richard Morrison and Senior Fellow John Berlau on the SEC and Gary Gensler: But representatives from the…
News Release
Senate Should Question Biden SEC, CFPB Nominees About Needed Constraints on Regulators
Today, the Senate Banking Committee is considering President Biden’s nomination of both Gary Gensler to head the SEC and Rohit Chopra to head the CFPB.
News Release
Richard Morrison Statement on the Confirmation Hearing of Gary Gensler to Be SEC Chair
Senior Fellow Richard Morrison reacted to the confirmation hearing of Gary Gensler to be SEC Chair: “Chairman-designate Gensler’s prepared remarks for today’s confirmation hearing…
Blog
Federalist Society and SEC’s Roisman on Future of ESG, Corporate Governance
Yesterday the Federalist Society held an excellent virtual event on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) theory, addressing “the divergent…
National Review
Voluntary ESG Disclosures Not Enough for the Feds
Dozens of companies, including some of the best-known consumer brands, recently signed on to a new system of rules for reporting on environmental, social,…
The Foundation for Economic Education
Economic Nationalists and Anti-Corporate Progressives Both Want More Government Power
Last month President Biden designated Rebecca Slaughter as acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission, where she has served as a commissioner since 2018. During a…