Publications

02 Feb 2009
News

World Leaders Wary of U.S. Economic Measures

2007
Working Paper

Choice, Rationality and Welfare Measurement

By: Jerry R. Green and Daniel A. Hojman

We present a method for evaluating the welfare of a decision maker, based on observed choice data. Unlike the standard economic theory of revealed preference, our method can be used whether or not the observed choices are rational. Paralleling the standard theory we... View Details

Keywords: Welfare Economics; Behavioral Economics; Psychology; Decision Making; Economics; Voting

September 2012
Article

The Relationship Between Economic Preferences and Psychological Personality Measures

By: Anke Becker, Thomas Deckers, Thomas Dohmen, Armin Falk and Fabian Kosse

Although both economists and psychologists seek to identify determinants of heterogeneity in behavior, they use different concepts to capture them. In this review, we first analyze the extent to which economic preferences and psychological concepts of personality, such... View Details

Keywords: Risk Preference; Time Preference; Social Preferences; Locus Of Control; Big Five; Economics; Behavior; Personal Characteristics

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2017
Working Paper

Nowcasting the Local Economy: Using Yelp Data to Measure Economic Activity

By: Edward L. Glaeser, Hyunjin Kim and Michael Luca

Can new data sources from online platforms help to measure local economic activity? Government datasets from agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau provide the standard measures of economic activity at the local level. However, these statistics typically appear only... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Analytics and Data Science; Local Range; Social and Collaborative Networks

SSRN

May 1984 (Revised May 1985)
Supplement

CIBA-GEIGY (A4): Measurement of Economic Performance of Group Companies

23 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Nowcasting the Local Economy: Using Yelp Data to Measure Economic Activity at Scale

Keywords: by Edward L. Glaeser, Hyunjin Kim, and Michael Luca

April 2023
Article

The Preference Survey Module: A Validated Instrument for Measuring Risk, Time, and Social Preferences

By: Armin Falk, Anke Becker, Thomas Dohmen, David B. Huffman and Uwe Sunde

Incentivized choice experiments are a key approach to measuring preferences in economics but are also costly. Survey measures are a low-cost alternative but can suffer from additional forms of measurement error due to their hypothetical nature. This paper seeks to... View Details

Keywords: Survey Validation; Experiment; Preference Measurement; Surveys; Economics; Behavior; Measurement and Metrics

Article

Formal Measures in Informal Management: Can a Balanced Scorecard Change a Culture?

By: Robert Gibbons and Robert S. Kaplan

Agency theorists, historically, have analyzed what kinds of performance measures should be used in formal incentive contracts. For example, after Kaplan-Norton proposed a balanced scorecard of both financial and non-financial measures, some envisioned its role only in... View Details

Keywords: Relational Contracts; Performance Measurement; Informal Management; Balanced Scorecard; Economics; Mathematical Methods

12 Jan 2014
News

Better measuring a country

Forthcoming
Article

Transaction Cost Economics in the Digital Economy: A Research Agenda

By: Frank Nagle, Robert Seamans and Steve Tadelis

Transaction cost economics theory explains when it is more efficient for a transaction between two parties to occur across the market or within an organization. How does transaction cost economics apply in the digital economy, which relies on digital transactions? In... View Details

Keywords: Transaction Cost Economics; Digital Economy; Economics; Cost; Markets; Research; Digital Transformation

November 2022
Article

Measuring Inequality beyond the Gini Coefficient May Clarify Conflicting Findings

By: Kristin Blesch, Oliver P. Hauser and Jon M. Jachimowicz

Prior research has found mixed results on how economic inequality is related to various outcomes. These contradicting findings may in part stem from a predominant focus on the Gini coefficient, which only narrowly captures inequality. Here, we conceptualize the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Inequalty; Gini Coefficient; Income Inequality; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Health; Status and Position

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01 Mar 2016
News

Measuring Impact

the findings of the inaugural Harvard Impact Study, the University’s first effort to quantify the economic and social contributions of its alumni. HBS professor Josh Lerner led the study, which was based on a survey sent to almost 245,000... View Details

Keywords: April White

September 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Technical Note

Measuring and Managing Social Impact

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Susan Pinckney

A brief overview of how to measure social impact at nonprofits, social organizations, and impact investments. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Change; Transformation; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Public Sector; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Entrepreneurial Finance; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Strength and Weakness; Mission and Purpose; Success; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Strategic Planning; Programs; Risk and Uncertainty; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues; United States

Educators

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November 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Understanding Economic Value Added

By: Mihir A. Desai, Fabrizio Ferri and Steve Treadwell

Explores the concept of economic value added (EVA) and its practical applications as a management control system for performance measurement and incentive compensation. Explains how EVA is measured and explores some of the adjustments to financial statements that are... View Details

Keywords: Value

Educators

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Research Summary

Choice, Rationality and Welfare Measurement

By: Jerry R. Green

For the past century, economists have used the hypothesis that individual choice is based on rationality in their calculations of individual and collective welfare. The central ideas are that actual market choice reveal underlying preferences, and with a good set of... View Details

14 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The New Measures for Improving Nonprofit Performance

[MCC], a US government agency that supports economic development in various countries. Its measures are typically very long-term outcomes and impacts: for example, increases in farmer incomes. This is a... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

2014
Working Paper

Profits and Economic Development

By: Dan Schwab and Eric Werker

Are rents, or excess profits, good for development? Using industry-level manufacturing data, this paper demonstrates a negative effect of rents, measured by the mark-up ratio, on productivity growth. The negative effect is strongest in poor countries, suggesting that... View Details

Keywords: Firm Performance; Rent; Mark-up; Competition; Manufacturing; Development Economics; Profit; Economic Growth; Renting or Rental

SSRN