Richard Morrison is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where his work focuses on the relationship between economic and political freedom. He has been widely cited for his research on corporate governance and finance regulation, in particular environmental, social, and governance (ESG) theory. He is also the host of the Free the Economy podcast.
He was previously a senior editor at CEI and managing editor of the blog OpenMarket. He also served as the program manager of CEI’s Center for Advancing Capitalism, where he coordinated outreach to the business community, universities, and other key allies. Before re-joining CEI in 2014, he was manager of communications at the Tax Foundation, where he was also the host and producer of the weekly Tax Policy Podcast. Prior to that he served as CEI’s director of media relations and director of new media between 1999 and 2010, during which he hosted the podcast Liberty Week.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Claremont McKenna College.
Authored by Richard Morrison
News
Biden Veto Means ESG Investment Rule Means Politicized Investing for Pensions
President Biden today vetoed a resolution passed by Congress that would have stopped a Labor Department rule on ESG investing. Specifically, the rule, “Prudence and…
SEC Climate Disclosure Mandate Exceeds Agency’s Statutory Authority, Raises Constitutional Concerns
WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) plan to mandate companies disclose energy use and planning for climate change-related financial risks lacks authorization from Congress, infringes…
SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Will Cause Big Problems, CEI Experts Predict
Today the Securities and Exchange Commission described a new rule it plans to impose concerning climate disclosure requirements that may affect even private companies as…
Blog
Desperately Seeking Regulatory Restraint
- By: Richard Morrison
Our friends at the Wall Street Journal editorial board recently published a timely warning about the surge in federal regulation being pushed by the…
Protecting Pensions from Politics
- By: Richard Morrison
Congress recently voted to protect pensions from politicized mismanagement and ESG fads, but President Biden has announced that he will be vetoing the measure. I…
Silicon Valley Bank, ESG, and Political Favoritism
- By: Richard Morrison
Last weekend we all saw the beginnings of what has now become a major meltdown for Silicon Valley Bank. The bank was quickly closed by…
Op-Eds/Articles
Fee.org
The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America’s Racial and Economic Divides
- By: Richard Morrison
Alfredo Ortiz has a message for all of the progressive politicians and activists working to close the economic gap between white and non-white Americans: Please…
Discourse
A Successful Abundance Agenda Must Address Americans’ Anxieties
f you flip through the pages or click on the website of any policy-minded publication these days, chances are you’ll come upon a discussion of…
The American Spectator
What Do Americans Really Think of ‘ESG’ Investing?
Investing to promote environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes — rather than to just maximize profit — became the hot topic in finance this year…
Studies
The SEC’s Costly Power Grab
- By: Richard Morrison
The concept known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has gained an increasingly high profile in recent years, with advocates producing a large volume…
Frequently Asked Questions on ESG Theory
- By: Richard Morrison
View Full Document as PDF Q: What does “ESG” stand for? A: ESG is short for “environmental, social, and governance.” It is a…
Environmental, Social, and Governance Theory
- By: Richard Morrison
View Full Document as PDF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The concept known as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) theory has a long history of similar,…
Citations
Ballotpedia
A look ahead at ESG in 2023
- By: Richard Morrison
Economy and Society is Ballotpedia’s weekly review of the developments in corporate activism; corporate political engagement; and the Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) trends and…
Real Clear Investigations
The Left’s Little Financial Engine That Could (Change the World Radically)
- By: Richard Morrison
Amalgamated Bank, with just five branches across three cities, and a market value lower than the net worth of many an individual hedge fund honcho,…
American Banker
Financed emissions are banks’ latest climate-change challenge
- By: Richard Morrison
American Banker cites CEI Senior Fellow Richard Morrison on financed emissions: Shareholders are already deciding whether companies should disclose more information about their emissions, often…