Publications

1979
Article

Approximating the Efficiency Gain of Tax Reforms

By: Jerry R. Green and Eytan Sheshinski

Proper analysis of tax reform requires evaluation of the welfare effects induced by a change from one tax system to another. We present two methods for estimating these changes using only local information pertaining to an initial equilibrium with distortive taxes. It... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Change; Analysis

May 2021
Article

Preparing for a Pandemic: Accelerating Vaccine Availability

By: Amrita Ahuja, Susan Athey, Arthur Baker, Eric Budish, Juan Camilo Castillo, Rachel Glennerster, Scott Duke Kominers, Michael Kremer, Jean Lee, Canice Prendergast, Christopher M. Snyder, Alex Tabarrok, Brandon Joel Tan and Witold Wiecek

Vaccinating the world’s population quickly in a pandemic has enormous health and economic benefits. We analyze the problem faced by governments in determining the scale and structure of procurement for vaccines. We analyze alternative approaches to procurement, arguing... View Details

Keywords: Vaccines; Procurement; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Acquisition; Cooperation

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2021
Working Paper

Impact Investing: A Theory of Financing Social Enterprises

By: Benjamin N. Roth

I present a model of financing social enterprises to delineate the role of impact investors relative to “pure” philanthropists. I characterize the optimal scale and structure of a social enterprise when financed by grants, and when financed by investments. Impact... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Mathematical Methods

SSRN

Article

Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing for Surgical Episodes

By: Peter Najjar, Matt Strickland and Robert S. Kaplan

Health care costs related to surgical care account for 40% of all hospital and physician spending. Payers attempting to contain costs are replacing fee-for-service with value-based payment schemes that can encompass entire episodes of care, including physician services... View Details

Keywords: Surgery; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Bundled Payments; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management

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April 1980 (Revised September 1985)
Background Note

The Disposable Diaper Industry in 1974

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the rapidly growing disposable diaper industry in 1974, a period in which Procter and Gamble's industry leadership faced strong challenges from Kimberly Clark, Johnson and Johnson, and Union Carbide. The latter two firms were in the process of entry into the... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competition; Consumer Products Industry

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates... View Details

July 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Pershing Square's Pandemic Trade (A)

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira, Dean Xu and Lucas Baker

This case explores the decision that Bill Ackman, CEO and founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, was considering in late February 2020 about hedging the exposure of the fund’s portfolio from the potential financial fallout ensuing from an extreme event like... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Financial Liquidity; Cost Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk Management

November 2023
Article

Algorithmic Mechanism Design with Investment

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Scott Duke Kominers, Kevin Michael Li, Shengwu Li and Paul Milgrom

We study the investment incentives created by truthful mechanisms that allocate resources using approximation algorithms. Some approximation algorithms guarantee nearly 100% of the optimal welfare, but have only a zero guarantee when one bidder can invest before... View Details

Keywords: Mechanism Design; Market Design; Auctions

In today's economic climate, corporate leaders in multidivisional and multinational companies face a uniquely broad set of challenges. While putting in place the systems, relationships, and strategies that foster business unit success, you also must lead the business... View Details

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

position is strong enough. To curb this possibility, the principal-owner optimally reduces the degree of autonomy granted to the manager. Hence higher levels of managerial autonomy are more likely for intermediate levels of competition.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2017
Case

Centerbridge Partners and Great Wolf Resorts: Buying from a Highly Regarded Competitor

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

The case examines the March 2015 Centerbridge Partners investment decision regarding whether to acquire Great Wolf Resorts, a North American family-oriented indoor water parks and hotel operator, from a private equity (PE) competitor, Apollo Global Management. The case... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity Financing; Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities; CMBS; Secondary Buyouts; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Cost; Cost of Capital; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States

Web

Faculty & Research

Journal of Financial Economics 165 (March 2025). Optimal Illiquidity By: John Beshears , James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian We study the socially View Details

Research Summary

Investment Management

Professor Chacko's research looks into the portfolio choice decisions of individuals and institutions. He is particularly concerned with optimal portfolio choice and consumption decisions in a dynamic framework. His work looks at how economic agents make these... View Details

Article

Transition to Clean Technology

By: Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, Douglas Hanley and William R. Kerr

We develop a microeconomic model of endogenous growth where clean and dirty technologies compete in production and innovation, in the sense that research can be directed to either clean or dirty technologies. If dirty technologies are more advanced to start with, the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry

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August 2022 (Revised January 2025)
Case

NOW PT (A): Should We Invest?

By: George A Riedel, Amy Klopfenstein and Mel Martin

In fall 2021, a team of students from the HBS Impact Investing Fund considered Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy (NOW PT) for a potential investment. Dr. Banks, the founder of NOW PT, drove to visit patients. She sought an investment from the fund to open a... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Buildings and Facilities; Health Industry; Financial Services Industry; North and Central America; United States; Massachusetts

October 2015
Case

Transpower New Zealand: Evaluating Board Performance

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Sarah L. Abbott

Mark Verbiest, Chairman of Transpower New Zealand, initiated a performance review of Transpower's board of directors. The review, which took four months to complete, provided board members with individualized feedback on their performance, as well as information on how... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Performance Evaluation; Governance; Leadership; Performance; Organizations; Human Resources; Decision Making; New Zealand

2008
Working Paper

Performance and Control across Multiple Markets

By: Tatiana Sandino, Dennis Campbell and Shelby Yu

Chain organizations typically operate units across different types of markets, with significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion potentially influences performance through two channels: it makes performance a noisier indicator of store manager... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Markets; Franchise Ownership; Performance; Retail Industry

1 Aug 2010
Conference Presentation

Firm Performance, Top Management and Minority Hiring: African‐American Coaches in the NFL, 1970‐2007

By: Andrew Hill and David Thomas

Studies of minority hiring have found that low-status firms are more likely to hire minority candidates. However, most work has examined hiring for entry and mid-level positions, not senior management, which differs in the level of 1) uncertainty regarding the optimal... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Management Teams; Recruitment; Relationships; Risk and Uncertainty; Ethnicity; Sports Industry; Africa; United States