In this episode of the LSE Beverage Report podcast, we continue our conversation with Sir Oliver Hart, a British-born American economist and Nobel laureate. Sir Oliver is the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University, and one of the leading experts on contract theory. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2016, together with Bengt Holmström, for his contributions to the theory of incomplete contracts.
We talk to Sir Oliver about some of his more recent research topics, such as corporate social responsibility, shareholder rights, and behavioral contracts. We discuss how corporations should balance their profit objectives with their social and environmental impacts, and whether shareholders should have a say in these matters. Sir Oliver shares with us his views on the opportunities for young economists, and his advice for students who want to pursue a career in economics.
This is part two of a two-part interview with Sir Oliver Hart. If you missed part one, where we discussed his life and career, his groundbreaking work on the roles that ownership structure and contractual arrangements play in the governance and boundaries of corporations, and his influential work on the hold-up problem.