Publications

21 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 21

Moreover, there is something resembling "intelligent design" in finance, whereby regulators and legislators act in a quasidivine capacity, putting dinosaurs on life support. The danger is that such interventions in the natural... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2011
Background Note

Corporate Reform Elements of the Dodd-Frank Act

By: Robert C. Pozen, Phillip Andrews and David Lane

This note summarizes the four major changes affecting corporate governance that were made by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. These changes relate to: advisory notes by shareholders, refinements to board structure, non-disclosure on compensation and tightening up of certain... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Government Legislation; Executive Compensation; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

March 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

UBS and Auction Rate Securities (A)

By: Daniel Baird Bergstresser, Shawn A. Cole and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai

UBS, a global financial services company, must decide whether to continue to support the market for Auction Rate Securities in the face of a growing financial crisis. These instruments, underwritten by UBS, were marketed to clients as highly liquid and safe... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Asset Pricing; Financial Liquidity; Financial Instruments; Government Legislation; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry

January 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Supplement

China's Evolving Labor Laws (B)

By: Lynn Sharp Paine and Aldo Sesia Jr.

The (B) case describes how the various business groups responded to the Chinese government's invitation to submit comments on its draft labor contract law and details the ensuing global controversy. The (B) case also describes changes made to the working draft and... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Labor; Contracts; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; China

2022
Working Paper

The Limits of Decentralized Administrative Data Collection: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

By: Natalia Garbiras-Diaz and Tara Slough

States collect vast amounts of data for use in policymaking and public administration. To do so, central governments frequently solicit data from decentralized bureaucrats. Because central governments use these data in policymaking, decentralized bureaucrats may face... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Policy-making; Policy/economics; Policy Evaluation; Governance; Government Administration; Government and Politics; Government Legislation; Policy; Public Opinion; Analytics and Data Science; Latin America; South America; Colombia

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March 2011
Teaching Note

International Lobbying and the Dow Chemical Company (TN) (A) & (B)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Teaching Note for 710027 and 710028. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Production; Non-Governmental Organizations; Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Government Legislation; Chemical Industry

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (D): Transforming the Core Business

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case describes Keroche co-founder Tabitha Karanja’s decision to exit the wine business following the Kenyan government’s 2007 increase in excise taxes on wine. In August 2007, Keroche introduced the vodka drink Viena Ice as a replacement for its fortified wines,... View Details

September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case discusses the Kenyan government’s decision to increase excise taxes on wines in 2007. The tax increase would cause an average increase in price of 367% on Keroche’s fortified wines. Meanwhile, Keroche’s competitor EABL had effectively lobbied the government... View Details

26 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Comment on Environmental Issues for Earth Day

power was introduced in the 1960s, the technology was new, and states defined geothermal resources (the heat of the earth that is used to make electricity) in various ways. Some state legislators defined it as heat or mineral, others as... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Energy; Utilities

04 Dec 2000
What Do You Think?

Have We Overdone Deregulation and Privatization?

Congress enacted legislation that had become known as "the Federal Express bill." It was designed to test the idea of deregulation by allowing air freight carriers to fly planes of any size on any routes, without federal price... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

26 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

How Electronic Patient Records Can Slow Doctor Productivity

care providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of digital records. The legislation came from the belief that EHRs used in certain ways—such as medication order entry that would alert a clinician about drug-to-drug interactions—could... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

09 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

Read All About It: Digital CEO Buys Traditional Media!

counterbalance other, increasingly concentrated sources of power and wealth) and self-interest (the vanity of having a mouthpiece to promote their personal agendas, or, more troubling perhaps, to influence the public and legislators on... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Journalism & News; Publishing

August 2003 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Multinational Corporations in Apartheid-era South Africa: The Issue of Reparations

By: Geoffrey Jones and Cate Reavis

Considers the lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of apartheid against multinationals who operated in South Africa prior to 1994. Reviews the debates about divestment from and sanctions against South Africa from the 1950s. Includes case studies of companies that... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business and Government Relations; Prejudice and Bias; South Africa

December 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Special Economic Zones in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Lakshmi Iyer

In 2005, the government of India enacted the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in order to attract investment, generate export revenues, and create manufacturing jobs. However, several planned projects faced difficulties in acquiring land for setting up the SEZ. In... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Policy; Government Legislation; Property; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; India

January 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Lobbying for Love? Southwest Airlines and the Wright Amendment

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Dennis A. Yao, Libby Cantrill and Patricia Wu

The fall of 2004 brought exciting news to Love Field, the Texas headquarters of Southwest Airlines. Delta Airlines, one of Southwest's main competitors, had announced that it would dramatically decrease service from the nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Opportunities; Competitive Advantage; Air Transportation Industry; Texas

June 25, 2022
Guest Column

CEOs Didn't Make the Roe Decision. It's Still Their Problem to Solve

By: Sandra Sucher

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Trust; Rights; Government Legislation; Social Issues; Employee Relationship Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; United States

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November 2010
Supplement

Lessons Learned? Brooksley Born & the OTC Derivatives Market (B)

By: Clayton S. Rose and David Lane

This (B) case provides the 2009 reflections of former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt on CFTC Chairman Brooksley Born's 1998 efforts to consider regulating the OTC derivative market. It also provides a summary of the aspects of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act that regulate these... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Legislation; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry; District of Columbia

September 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

River Remedy: Navigating Mississippi’s Medical Marijuana Market

By: Robin Greenwood, Richard S. Ruback and Robert Ialenti

MBA student William Chism, the founder of a fully integrated medical marijuana company based in Mississippi, must respond to a significant disruption in the fledgling industry. In late 2023, Rapid Analytics, one of two active licensed testing facilities, has its... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Growth and Maturation; Forecasting and Prediction; Microeconomics; Local Range; Government Legislation; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Mississippi