Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms: Perspectives for Law, Economics, and Business. B. L. Hay, R. N. Stavins, and R. H. K. Vietor, eds. 2005. RFF Press, Washington, DC. 240 pp. $80 cloth, $39.95 paperback.

In the 2005 text, Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms, editors Bruce Hay, Robert Stavins, and Richard Vietor examine an issue that has existed for some time in its various iterations but only recently has gained renewed exposure under the buzzword “Corporate Social Responsibility,” or CSR. The editors employ a variety of authorities in various CSR-related areas to examine the three central questions of the work. First, do firms have a moral or social responsibility to commit resources to voluntary environmental protection, even if these voluntary efforts might reduce the company's overall earnings or profitability? Second, can such firms commit these voluntary resources on an ongoing, sustainable basis, or will market forces render such efforts implausible? Finally, do firms in general tend to engage in CSR-related activities and, if so, at what “cost”?