PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Sustainable economies in the 21st century that are vibrant, competitive and successful will internalize environmental costs into a new generation of technologies, products, businesses and markets. Many of these developments will be enacted by non-state actors, especially businesses. Public policy will, however, be a key driver of such developments, from awareness raising, to standard setting, incentives and regulation. The principle focus of work to date has been on the real economy. This program, whilst factoring in and contributing to this thrust, will focus on the financial economy.

Aligning financial markets to the investment needs of sustainable economies will be one of the most important factors impacting their development. Current policy debate and practice regarding financial market reform provides an opportunity to advance such alignment, as do other contemporary developments in the financial markets. Directions to consider include initiatives to overcome short-termism in financial markets, review of sovereign, sub-national and corporate credit ratings, innovations in investor governance and fiduciary arrangements, and the emergence of policy-directed investment vehicles, such as sovereign wealth funds.