Author Archives: Finance and Philosophy

CFP: Intersections of finance and society

Posted on by
Reply

Call for papers: Conference on ‘Intersections of finance and society’
To be held on 3-4 November 2016 at City University London, UK
PDF version of the call for papers available here.

Recent years have seen a growth in innovative research on finance across the humanities and social sciences. Following on from the success of the ‘social studies of finance’ approach and the new literature on ‘financialisation’, scholars are taking up the challenge of theorising money and finance beyond the conceptual constraints of orthodox economic theory, with different research agendas emerging under various new monikers. This two-day conference aims to bring these approaches into closer dialogue. In particular, it seeks to identify new synergies between heterodox political economy and various sociological, historical, and philosophical perspectives on the intersections of finance and society.

The conference is organised by the journal Finance and Society (with support from the Department of International Politics at City University London), together with the Social Studies of Finance Network at the University of Sydney (with support from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney).

Confirmed keynotes Continue reading →

Four Positions in Financial Ethics

Posted on by
Reply

The University of Gothenburg seeks to establish a new research group in practical philosophy dedicated to ethical and political issues raised by the financial system. There is a growing consensus that financial agents and markets are failing to live up to their social responsibilities. The global financial crisis demonstrated how misaligned incentives and poor regulations impose extreme risks on both the financial system itself and society at large. But a more general problem is the seeming inability of financial markets to address the great sustainability challenges of our times, such as global poverty and the threat of climate change.

These overarching issues can be broken down into many subtopics, which in turn raise questions of more general philosophical concern. Possible subtopics include: * the proper objective of private companies and the division of moral labour in society; * the ethics of speculation and gambling; * insider trading and the importance of ‘fair play’ in markets; * the legitimacy of paternalism in dealing with clients; * incentive- versus desert-based views on justice in pay; * the Tobin tax and the legitimacy of international tax regimes; * the role of central banks and the justification of virtual or international currencies; * microfinance and poor people’s right to credit; and * Islamic finance and the moral critique of usury.

A total of four positions will be advertised: Continue reading →

Open Position in Economics & Philosophy / Business Ethics

Posted on by
Reply

Tenure Track Assistant/Associate Professor Economics&Philosophy/Business Ethics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Groningen, The Netherlands

The application deadline is 15 June 2015. For information about the post, click here.

The University of Groningen invites applications for an assistant or associate professor (tenure track) in economics and philosophy/business ethics in the Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance of the Faculty of Economics and Business. Tenure track positions are eligible for consideration for award of the title of full professor, generally after ten years, depending on merit.

Continue reading →

Financial Ethics: Taking Responsibility for the ‘Stupid Stuff’

Posted on by
Reply

Ethics in financial services is suddenly a major concern for the most prominent US bank supervisor.

In a speech at the Bank of England on 20 January 2015, Thomas C Baxter, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, proclaimed, “At the New York Fed, we have made ethical culture a priority for financial services.”

As tangible evidence of this priority, the New York Fed held a workshop on 21 October 2014, on ‘Reforming Culture and Behavior in the Financial Services Industry,’ in an effort to understand the causes of ethical failures and to develop strategies for improving the ethical cultures of large financial institutions.

Continue reading →

New research program in financial ethics at University of Gothenburg

Posted on by
1

Joakim Sandberg, Associate Professor of Philosophy at University of Gothenburg, has been selected as Wallenberg Academy Fellow by the Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden. The fellowship is designed to give stable financial support to the most promising young researchers of all academic disciplines. Sandberg will receive five years of full research funding plus a hefty research budget that is supposed to cover junior associates, workshops and travels. So be on the look out for new junior positions at Gothenburg in the near future!

Sandberg’s research program is called “The Philosophy of Responsible Finance” and deals with foundational issues in financial ethics. The aim is to develop a theory of the division of labor in society which stakes out a more sustainable role for financial agents and markets. The program will also evaluate some of the currently proposed measures for making the financial system more socially responsible. These include changing the bonus system for financial executives, legislation on robotic trade in securities, and a global tax on financial transactions.