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External shocks from the economic depressions and wars of the past have impacted on the quality of life of the young ever since and steered attention to social responsibility (Puaschunder, 2010). But it is unknown what future risks and opportunities will arise for the future perspectives of young people today in the aftermath of the 2008/09 World Financial Crisis given unprecedented governmental overindebtedness, an aging Western world population and irreversible environmental damage. How to face these unfamiliar challenges should become the focus of future research on intergenerational equity.

The book has explored the innovative corporate and financial market potential to create value for society. It first described corporate and financial social responsibility in theoretical terms. The human foundation of responsibility and decision-making fallibility in responsibility were discussed. The international emergence of CSR governance was outlined in the case of the UNGC, which serves as a social responsibility international best practice guideline. CSR was portrayed as a means of conflict resolution in multi-stakeholder partnerships.

In the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008, the United States and Europe are stuck in a state of political paralysis that is leading to a new norm of fiscal austerity, high unemployment, and, in the case of Europe, economic stagnation. With fiscal policy orientated around austerity it is the central banks – the Federal Reserve (the Fed) , the Bank of England (BOE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) – that remain the only macroeconomic authorities with the authority and political power to try to revive these struggling economies.

In the last two decades, there has been a global sea change in the theory and practice of central banking. The 'best practice' commonly prescribed by the international financial institutions and by many prominent economists, is the 'neo-liberal' approach to central banking (Epstein 2003). Its main components are: (1) central bank independence (2) a focus on inflation fighting (including adopting formal 'inflation targeting') and (3) the use of indirect methods of monetary policy (i.e., short-term interest rates as opposed to direct methods such as credit ceilings) (Bernanke et al. 1999).