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14 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 14

Publications October 2014 Journal of International Economics The Global Agglomeration of Multinational Firms By: Alfaro, Laura, and Maggie Xiaoyang Chen Abstract—The explosion of multinational activities in recent decades is rapidly... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2012 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Against the Grain: Jim Teague in Tanzania (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna

Loan officer Jim Teague discovers his agro-processor client has a serious health-code violation just days before a disbursement is due. Proceeding with the loan could jeopardize the health of thousands of customers and put his employer at serious risk. But withholding... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Financing and Loans; Health; Risk Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Tanzania

02 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

Investor Protection: The Czech Experience

political risk influences the financing and operational decisions of U.S. multinational firms both at the subsidiary and firm-wide level. Several interesting results are emerging from this work—first, multinational firms View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Media & Broadcasting; Entertainment & Recreation

02 Jun 2011
What Do You Think?

Is it Time for a National Bankruptcy?

question this raises is which lenders, nations or commercial institutions? Shann Turnbull, citing some of his own work on the subject, argued that the risks of allowing insolvency "can no longer be reliably managed because they have... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

21 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets

Emerging markets such as the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—entice and intimidate. When managers are asked what is special about emerging markets, they typically point to rapid economic growth, potential competitors, and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2019
Article

Does Political Uncertainty Increase External Financing Costs? Measuring the Electoral Premium in Syndicated Lending

By: Olivia S. Kim

This article investigates the impact of political uncertainty on contractual lending terms using a large sample of syndicated loans and a within-firm estimation approach to achieve identification. Firms pay 7 basis points (bps) more on loans originated when their... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Political Elections; Financing and Loans; Developing Countries and Economies

March 8, 2008
Comment

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

By: John A. Quelch

The signs of an imminent recession are all around us. The spillover from the subprime mortgage crisis is weakening both consumer confidence and the consumer spending—much of it on credit—that has been buoying the U.S. economy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Recession; Products And Sales; Core Values; Fluctuation; Volatility; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Growth and Development; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Risk and Uncertainty; Salesforce Management; Asia; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America

Read Now

March 2008 (Revised July 2010)
Case

China in Africa: The Case of Sudan

This case examines the relation between China's demand for resources and political risk. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Environmental Sustainability; Sudan; China

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

been opened to a fast-growing number of travelers ranging from student study groups to Syrian President al-Assad walking a stretch of the path with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. As it takes fuller shape, the Path variously serves as a catalyst for sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Stop Thinking of Climate Change as a Religious or Political Issue

You sometimes hear people say things like, "I believe in global warming" or "I don't believe in climate change." It seems odd to approach climate change in this way, as though it were a question of belief, like religion. Most of the time when we confront uncertainty in... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt; Energy; Utilities

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

New Challenges for Long-Term Investors

like to emphasize that my previous statements about long-term stock return risk do not mean, as some have sometimes characterized it, that "stocks are riskless in the long run." This statement lacks empirical or logical support.... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

08 Jan 2007
What Do You Think?

Neuro Economics: Science or Science Fiction?

Summing Up Neuro economics is here to stay, according to a majority of those responding to this month's column. Its promises are too great to ignore. But it may be too early to know whether the promises will be realized in practice. And... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

19 Nov 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?

at risk of losing them. Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink Mass-market retailers, particularly big-box "category killers," are under critical pressure from online competitors. Why Online Retailers Should Hide... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

29 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel

the importance of risk management and oversight. Robert C. Merton, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor, similarly expressed concern about the unintended consequences of change on Wall Street, closing with the assertion that... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

January 2006 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Drug Testing in Nigeria (A)

By: Debora L. Spar

In 1996, a meningitis epidemic swept across Nigeria. Thousands of children were struck and, lacking appropriate medicine, were liable to die from the disease. Doctors at Pfizer had an antibiotic that could probably save most of these children's lives. The drug was new,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Health Pandemics; Health Testing and Trials; Developing Countries and Economies; Pharmaceutical Industry; Nigeria

24 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 24, 2006

paper, we examine the impact of the AIDS epidemic on African nations through 2002 using the male circumcision rate to identify plausibly exogenous variation in HIV prevalence. Medical researchers have found significant evidence that male circumcision can reduce the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Other Unpublished Work

Inflation Uncertainty and the Wage Bargain

By: Lucy White and Hans-Joachim Voth

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Risk and Uncertainty; Wages; Labor and Management Relations; Negotiation

27 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

A Politician's Investment Portfolio Might Tip Off Corruption Potential

The risk taken in a politician’s private investment portfolio is a strong indicator of whether that person will cross legal or ethical lines in office. The riskier the portfolio, the more likely the lawmaker will be involved in at least... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

November 2003 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Weetman Pearson and the Mexican Oil Industry (A)

By: Geoffrey Jones and Lisa Bud-Freirman

Taught in the MBA Evolution of Global Business course, a business history course on the growth of multinationals. Explores the role of the British entrepreneur Weetman Pearson in developing the Mexican oil industry before 1914. Shows this entrepreneur's evolution from... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk and Uncertainty; Non-Renewable Energy; Growth Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; Mexico