The book deals with the controversial and fantasized subject of the leaders of large companies and contemporary administrations. The authors successively analyze the social and ethnic origins, genders, training, social networks, typical careers, functions performed, political and religious commitments, relationships to finance, diversity and ethics, etc. of senior executives around the world. They trace the evolution of these different parameters and compare them between national cultures. As good academics, they draw their reflections from the works of the most prestigious sociologists and economists: Weber, Veblen, Schumpeter, Marx, Bourdieu, etc. They also engage in useful semantic exercises, showing in particular the diversity of their titles: senior executive, “boss”, professional, president, managing director, Chief Executive Officer, director-manager, etc. The authors highlight the specificities of French leaders, both in terms of their education in the Grandes Écoles (X, HEC, ENA, etc.) and their status (more salaried), their backgrounds (more financial and/or organizational), their family backgrounds (more affluent), their careers (less international) and their networks (anchored in the senior civil service). The book is well documented and clearly written. It helps to demystify, at least partially, certain legends about “big heir bosses, rentiers and immovable”, who sit at the head of large Western companies. F-X. Dudouet is a research director at CNRS and A.Vion is a professor of sociology at the University of Nantes. Review by J-J. PLUCHART
PORCHER Simon, La fin de l’eau ?, Eds Fayard, 259 pages.
At the 2023 World Water Conference, the UN Secretary-General said, “We have broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater.” We are heading towards a reduction in water resources because periods of intense drought harden the soil and during subsequent rains the water runs off and is no longer absorbed. The consequences are catastrophic, as the soil moisture content is too low for the groundwater to replenish itself. This will have consequences, among other things, on agricultural production, whose yields will decline and will lead to significant social consequences. The lack of water could become the main object of conflicts because drinking water is not a commodity like any other and it is not possible to depoliticize it because without water there is no life. Water is everyone’s business, the shortage concerns each and every one of us. It is essential to address water management in a comprehensive manner in relation to ecosystems, biodiversity and climate change because it is a factor of economic and human development. Access to water must be a priority today, otherwise adaptation to climate change will not be possible. Good water management is not relative to its ownership, but is a function of the ability to create good governance at the community level. Mechanisms must be built for large groups. The solutions to be adopted are necessarily local. Experiments in setting up rights of use already exist and make it possible to combine the market mechanism and public intervention. The financialization of water is not the solution. We must reinvent the economic model of water to limit waste and preserve the quality of the resource, this requires a better readability of the price, the reuse of treated wastewater, the desalination of seawater, the collection of rainwater as well as the collection of water from fogs in arid areas, the remuneration of the sobriety of consumers and producers as well as a better application of the polluter-pays principle. Simon Porcher is a professor of management sciences at the University of Paris Panthéon-Assas. His work focuses on the management and pricing of public water services. Chronicle by Michel GABET
Bruno BENSASSON, L’économie n’est pas qu’une affaire d’argent : Comprendre l’économie autrement, Eds Presses des Mines, 2024, 228 pages.
“When prices go up, does demand go down?” ” Yes, every other time; “Does GDP measure the wealth of a country? Not really: “Do quotas and taxes distort markets?” ” Yes and no; “Is it possible to work less – 35 instead of 39 hours – and earn more? Yes, but no. In these few entries that punctuate the 27 chapters of the book prefaced by Jean-Marc Daniel, there is no doubt that economics is not a hard science and it is far from being infallible. The author does not pretend to convince us otherwise. However, in this “accessible without prerequisites” exercise where the character of Robinson divides his time between work, leisure and rest, the equations are housed in the body of the text and tend to demonstrate that if Bruno Bensasson denies being an “economist by profession”, he will have largely walked on the plateaus of this honorable community. It is enough to refer to the list of authors cited where their dates of birth, death, key work as well as their striking quotes are scrupulously recalled. As Daniel reminds us, Edgeworth, who was also not an economist, was an unsuccessful lawyer who, in order not to have to pay for his heating, became an avid reader of Laplace and Maxwell, because their books were located on the shelves closest to the British Library’s stove. The economist William Stanley Jevons, having met him by chance, encouraged him to move from physics to economics! Let us bet that the author will not have to suffer too much from the cold to be forced to become an economist at his own expense. Bruno Bensasson is Executive Director of the EDF Group in charge of the Renewable Energies Division and Chairman and CEO of EDF Renewables. He is a member of the EDF Executive Committee and a director of Luminus and EDF Trading. Chronicle written by Alain Brunet
Michel ALLE. Nucléaire contre renouvelable : Pour en finir avec la guerre des religions, Royal Academy of Belgium, 210 pages.
The author deals with the highly debated issue in Europe of the rivalry between nuclear energy and renewable energies. After having posed the problems generated by the climate transition, by the revival of “old renewables” (hydroelectricity and biomass), by the maintenance of “historical nuclear power”, by the decline of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and by the launch of “new nuclear power” (EPR) and “new renewables” (photovoltaic and wind power), the author analyzes the difficulties encountered by decarbonization, by the strengthening of energy efficiency (and especially electrical) and by the decoupling between economic growth and energy consumption. The author then compares the energy and electricity mixes, the variations in production and electrical capacities as well as the carbon emissions of Germany (whose nuclear phase-out he deplores), China (whose progress he welcomes), Denmark (which he sets up as a model), the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium (whose political decisions he criticizes). In conclusion, Michel Allé considers that the “religious war” between nuclear power and renewables is irrelevant. He believes that decarbonization is well underway but still insufficient. According to him, energy efficiency and economic growth will be mainly ensured by the new renewables, which are the main levers of decarbonization. Energy sobriety should play only a marginal role and fossil fuels should no longer benefit from subsidies. The advent of new nuclear power seems inevitable to him in the long term, but it depends on its competitiveness and the political choices of the main nation-states. Michel Allé demonstrates exceptional pedagogical skills on a complex subject. His reflection is presented in 30 short chapters, alternately technical, economic and geopolitical, which are illustrated with tables, graphs, references and glossaries drawn from the best sources. Michel Allé is an honorary professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles. He is notably a director of Elia Group, manager of electricity transmission networks in Belgium and Germany. Review written by J-J. PLUCHART
Benjamin BURBAUMER, Chine/États-Unis, le capitalisme contre la mondialisation, La Découverte, 304 pages
To overcome the domestic crisis, in the 1970s the United States decided to create a global market to restore the profitability of US multinationals. For its part, China sees globalization as an accelerator of national economic development. Although the motivations of the two great powers are very different, they agree that China must contribute to globalization. This apparent agreement turned, in the 2000s, into open conflict and a deep and lasting rivalry. The American capitalist vision is confronted with Chinese communism. This is when a turning point occurred: China decided to free itself from this “soft trade” by modifying the rules of this globalization under American supervision. It sets up new rules, creates not only physical but also digital and monetary infrastructures. China is proposing another vision of capitalism, a state-led, authoritarian and dynamic vision. In this book, the author provides in-depth insight to understand the why and how of current rivalries and the geopolitical limits of the US-China relationship. Benjamin Bürbaumer is an economist and lecturer at Sciences Po Bordeaux. A specialist in globalization and international political economy, he is the author of Le Souverain et le Marché (The Sovereign and the Market) (Amsterdam Publishing, 2020). Chronicle written by Florence Anglès
by BOISSIEU C. & CHESNEAU D. (eds), Réussir le transition énergétique et écologique, Eds Eska, 243 pages.
The book analyzes the progress made since the 2015 Paris agreements (COP 21) in financing the energy and ecological transition (EET). In particular, it highlights the progress of “global climate governance”, which has been rendered chaotic by the succession of the latest financial, pandemic and geopolitical crises. The book is of great interest in that it consists of analyses and positions that are sometimes discordant, allowing the reader to grasp both the diversity and the coherence of the themes of the TEE. The first chapter recalls the objectives and describes the implementation of COP 21. The second chapter presents the physical, financial, and transition risks incurred by states, companies, society, and the planet in the event of a drift or failure of the EET. Chapter 3 observes the influence of the different stages of the rise of extra-financial considerations in accounting and financial theories and practices, both public and private. Chapter 4 specifically analyzes the contributions and processes of carbon accounting. Chapter 5 describes the transformation of the strategic and financial management of companies under the effect of TEE. Chapter 6 shows how environmental law regulates climate and biodiversity damage. Chapter 7 analyzes the different instruments and presents the multiple actors (states, banks, financial markets, asset managers) who contribute to green financing. Chapter 8 studies the actions taken by central banks in these different financial circuits. The 9th chapter studies the economic model of the European Investment Bank. The penultimate chapter highlights the diversity of roles assigned to financial and extra-financial rating agencies in the issuance of “green bonds”. The last chapter measures the scope and limits of the Green Pact (European green deal). The book therefore provides an original, complete and nuanced overview of the legal, normative, organizational and instrumental frameworks for financing the TEE. The 12 authors of the book are managers of large banks and consulting firms (D. Chesneau, S. Dees, A. Fayolle, F. Meunier), university professors (C. de Boissieu, E. Carrey, A. Frisch, O. Garnier, P. Geoffron, J-J. Pluchart), and lawyers (C. Lepage, C. Huglo). Review written by K. WANTZ O’ROURKE