Economics and Ethics

The ongoing process of globalization is increasingly opening markets for labor, goods and capital - as well as the public sector. However, large parts of society are looking at this development with increasing skepticism. Throughout the world, the questions of markets and morality as well as responsibility and fairness are more pertinent than ever in business, especially as a result of the power that companies wield in the markets for labor and capital.

The 2002 Alpbach Forum on Economics and Ethics focuses on the resulting challenges and the contribution that global economic ethics can make toward overcoming them.

The first half-day session will be devoted to various approaches to economic ethics, followed by a session on economic ethics and its global players in light of heavy criticism of globalization. In the third session, work groups will discuss individual aspects of global economic ethics intensively, with due attention to the results of the previous two sessions. Finally, the fourth session will include comments and opinions on the global ethical challenges discussed in the previous sessions.