Corporate social responsibility in India - An Effort to bridge the welfare gap

Jayati Sarkar () and Subrata Sarkar ()
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Jayati Sarkar: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India

Abstract: Drawing on existing theoretical and empirical literature on the rationale behind Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this paper analyses the potential implications of mandated CSR under the recently enacted Companies Act, 2013 in India on firm incentives, likely responses of corporates that come under the ambit of the law, implications for resource availability and delivery of social goods, and the prospects and challenges of implementing mandated CSR. Insights into these issues are drawn by empirically examining the voluntary CSR behavior of a sample of 500 large companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange for the period 2003-2011 that predates the new regulation. The paper argues that notwithstanding the potential economic costs that may accompany mandated CSR, the provisions of the new Act are designed thoughtfully to balance the objectives of the corporation and its shareholders on the one hand and that of the society and its stakeholders on the other. However, addressing the challenges of implementation successfully would determine how far the objectives of the new regulations are met.

Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; firm incentives; social welfare; efficiency; regulation; enforecment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G38 H21 H53 L21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2015-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pbe
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2015-023

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