The Tobin Project Holds a Conference on Corporations & American Democracy

On February 8th and 9th, the Tobin Project held our third conference in our initiative on Corporations & American Democracy. Participants shared the latest drafts of their chapters for an upcoming volume with scholars and policymakers. Led by volume editors Bill Novak and Naomi Lamoreaux, these sessions produced lively discussions on a broad span of research, ranging from historical accounts of the links between democracy, corruption, and 19th century corporations law to the modern-day globalization and disaggregation of corporate supply chains and their effect on corporate social and legal responsibility. 

The scholars and policymakers also considered the implications of their research for the controversial 2010 Supreme Court corporate-rights case Citizens United and the ongoing Hobby Lobby case, for which several of the scholars recently submitted an amicus brief. Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub helped connect these discussions to contemporary policy by discussing her experiences on the FEC.

We are beginning the publication process for our volume and look forward to sharing news of our publication timeline.