Publications

December 10, 2013
Article

A Market-based Mechanism to Improve Capital Expenditures

By: Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Finance; Infrastructure; Debt; Political Risk; Expenditure; Ghana; Africa

Article

Power to the People

By: Eric D. Werker

Every nongovernmental organization has a mission statement. For example, CARE, one of the world's largest and best-funded NGOs, explains its mission as serving "individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Food; Service Operations; Inflation and Deflation; Experience and Expertise; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Knowledge; Poverty; Agribusiness; Diversity; Non-Governmental Organizations; Innovation and Invention; India

August 23, 2010
Article

Disaster Politics: International Politics and Relief Efforts

By: Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Government and Politics

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Negotiating for Development: A New Paradigm for Natural Resource Agreements

By: Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Development Economics; Natural Environment

May 2009
Teaching Note

The World Food Programme during the Global Food Crisis (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Eric D. Werker

Teaching Note for [709024] and [709052]. View Details

Keywords: Non-Governmental Organizations; Nutrition; Food; Crisis Management; Problems and Challenges; Poverty

March 26, 2007
Article

KPMG for Mayor!

By: Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Government and Politics

September 2012
Teaching Note

Kaesong Industrial Complex (A) and (B) (TN)

By: Eric Werker and Dante Roscini

Keywords: Foreign Investment; Country Risk; Bilateral Trade; Special Economic Zones; Risk and Uncertainty; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment

01 Mar 2014
News

Faculty Q&A: The Future of Foreign Aid

Eric Werker You spent much of 2009 to 2011 in Liberia advising President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf while on leave from HBS. What did you learn from that experience? Good ideas and great strategies are cheap and... View Details

Keywords: foreign aid; Government

October 2012
Teaching Note

Liberia (TN)

By: Eric Werker and Ian Cornell

From 1989 to 2003 civil war raged in Liberia, causing GDP per capita to drop an unprecedented 90% from peak to trough. The roots of Liberia's conflict and economic decline are complex and intertwined, resting on over a century of discriminatory elite rule and twisted... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Economic Systems; War; Economy; Government and Politics; Liberia

September 2011 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Liberia

By: Eric Werker and Jasmina Beganovic

From 1989 to 2003 civil war raged in Liberia, causing GDP per capita to drop an unprecedented 90% from peak to trough. The roots of Liberia's conflict and economic decline are complex and intertwined, resting on over a century of discriminatory elite rule and twisted... View Details

Keywords: War; Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Macroeconomics; Liberia

Educators

2014
Working Paper

Who Runs the International System? Power and the Staffing of the United Nations Secretariat

By: Paul Novosad and Eric Werker

National governments frequently pull strings to get their citizens appointed to senior positions in international institutions. We examine, over a 60 year period, the nationalities of the most senior positions in the United Nations Secretariat, ostensibly the world's... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Global Range; Power and Influence

SSRN

August 2012 (Revised October 2012)
Technical Note

GEM 15: Country Development Strategies in 15 Statistics

By: Aldo Musacchio and Eric Werker

Keywords: Country Analysis; Country Development Strategies; Macroeconomics

Educators

2011
Chapter

Innovations in Governance

By: Raymond Fisman and Eric Werker

In this paper we explore the innovations in governance that have promoted investment and growth. Some policymakers have tinkered with their country's institutions, some have undertaken wholesale changes, while others have attempted to influence the rules in other... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Investment; Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention

July 24, 2013
Article

Detroit Has Filed For Bankruptcy. Now What? The Long View

By: Eric D. Werker and Benjamin Kennedy

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Detroit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Michigan

May 2013
Teaching Note

Privatization of the Power Sector in Nigeria (A and B)

By: Eric D. Werker and Ian Cornell

Keywords: Privatization; Energy Industry; Nigeria

2001
Working Paper

Refugees in Arua District: A Human Security Analysis

By: Lucy Hovil and Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Refugees; Safety; Human Needs; Uganda

December 2008
Article

The Political Economy of 'Natural' Disasters

By: Charles Cohen and Eric D. Werker

Natural disasters occur in a political space. Although events beyond our control may trigger a disaster, the level of government preparedness and response greatly determines the extent of suffering incurred by the affected population. We use a political economy model... View Details

Keywords: History; Demographics; Natural Disasters; Policy; Economy; Government and Politics

October 20, 2007
Article

A Global Tax Credit

By: Justin Muzinich and Eric D. Werker

Keywords: Taxation; Credit

Working Paper

Developing the Guts of a GUT (Grand Unified Theory): Elite Commitment and Inclusive Growth

By: Lant Pritchett and Eric D. Werker

Two key unanswered questions in theories of growth are (a) why some countries successfully initiate episodes of rapid growth while others suffer extended stagnation and (b) why some countries are able to sustain growth episodes over many decades of rapid (or steady)... View Details

Keywords: Elite Commitment; Inclusive Growth; Status and Position; Rank and Position; Economic Growth