I am not sure which is falling faster: market confidence in the midst of credit woes, or my bank account balance as I pay tuition and moving-in expenses in Fontainebleau. As I start my MBA at Insead, France, real worries about the world economy have emerged for the first time in several years. This unhappy coincidence does not bode well for the job market on graduation.

It is hard, however, to be dejected as I look out over the roofs of this idyllic town. I have just spent four years in Tokyo, the ultimate mega-city, where the price of limitless choice is noise and crowds. A year of study in a charming town surrounded by one of Europe’s largest forests is just what I need.

Taking a leave of absence from my job with the Canadian government was a calculated risk after nearly five years as a G8 policy advisor, followed by four years as an economist and finance ministry representative at the Canadian embassy in Japan. Were I still in Tokyo, I can imagine myself armed with the latest information from headquarters, having a conversation with Japanese contacts on market volatility. I might have argued that the recent turmoil is a re-pricing of risk and that better investment decisions will be made in the future. It is easy to talk about risk in the abstract as a policy maker, from the blissful comfort of public sector job security, but now I too must confront the reality of risk and potential reward.

I worry that my limited private sector experience, dating back more than 10 years, will not be enough for me to compete – at the age of 36 – against the many younger Insead students. Will my bureaucratic mind be able to cope with the flexibility and vigour of my private sector colleagues? And yet, I hope that my background in government and diplomacy may confer a certain comparative advantage.

In an interview by a national Canadian newspaper, Paul Tellier, formerly Canada’s top civil servant and chief executive of Canadian National Railway and then Bombardier, noted that business can learn from government’s capacity to cope with complexity. In a world of open markets and porous borders, asymmetric threats and global politics, climate change and shifting economic centres of gravity, companies must broaden their analytical frameworks and take a much longer term approach to managing risk to succeed. In some ways, this has been my bread and butter for years, so perhaps I should not discount the value of my own stock too much.

Government can make policy; create the right frameworks and incentives. But not all frameworks are created equal, as anyone who has tried to get a contract enforced in any number of emerging markets will know.

Ten years in government have convinced me that a world that is increasingly driven by decisions taken outside the G8, will require business to work towards solving its social and environmental problems, irrespective of the policies or lack thereof in many countries.

While I recognise the optimism of my perspective, I believe that rather than a rush to a lowest common denominator, globalisation of economies and information can lead to higher standards, as demanded by the market.

The made-in-China quality concerns are the latest illustration of the point that consumers will no longer choose cost over all other factors. Shareholders are alive to the risk of the value of their investments tumbling because it was revealed that the company they own was penny-wise but pound foolish with safety or environmental protection. Firms that abdicate responsibility for the practices of their outsourcing partners can quickly find themselves facing consumer boycotts. And as emerging markets continue to develop, there will be fewer workers willing to sacrifice their safety or their local environment just to have a job.

It is this public sector perspective and, I hope, a fairly good understanding of the global system, accompanied by an optimism that markets can indeed work for the greater good, that I bring to the table at Insead. In turn I hope the school will provide me with the tools of modern management and the knowledge of how to use them to effect change.

The focus in the first week of the programme and indeed throughout the course on values, ethics and governance suggests that my interest in the nexus between profit and sustainability will not go unmet.

I am open to different career possibilities after the MBA, but in the end, my goal is to become a leader in the business world who contributes to positive change in society.

As markets increasingly place a priority on environmental protection and social development as necessary conditions for achieving shareholder value and greater wealth in our society, I believe managing risk in an enlightened way will have greater value. Banking on this belief is the risk I am taking in spending my life savings (and quite a bit more) on this degree. Like a company that pursues profit though achieving the highest standards of sustainable business, I am betting my future on the belief that personal success will come if I bring a social and environmental consciousness to a private sector career.

But for now, I intend to be entirely self-interested and enjoy life in Fontainebleau, eating too much cheese and enjoying French wine during the rare breaks in the school work. I will have to trust what I was taught, that the markets will adjust and that therefore it is a safe bet that the global economy will be rosy when the time for me to contribute comes again.

For other MBA diaries see www.ft.com/businesseducation