Economic Psychology - Publications - Faculty & Research

July 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors: Bringing Systematic Investment to Philanthropy

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Alexander Bischoff and Sophia Pan

Melissa Berman, CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), evaluated her client’s philanthropy project and its mediocre performance. RPA was a segment of the Rockefeller Family Office’s Philanthropy Department, becoming an independent charity in 2002. Consistently... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Art-of-Negotiation/Michael-Wheeler/9781451690446 August 2013 Current Directions in Psychological Science Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off By: Dunn, Elizabeth W.,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Aug 2017
Research & Ideas

Should Industry Competitors Cooperate More to Solve World Problems?

are persistent issues that in many cases have worsened. "Addressing these issues is critical for the future competitiveness of these industries" In our competitive landscape, ESG efforts are guided by economic incentives.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Manufacturing; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Mining

2008
Working Paper

Behavioral Aspects of Price Setting, and Their Policy Implications

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

This paper starts by discussing consumers' cognitive and emotional reaction to posted prices. Cognitively, some consumers do not appear to make effective use of price information to maximize their consumption-based utility. Emotionally, prices can induce regret and... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Price; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Consumer Behavior; Emotions

Citation

Read Now

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

Principles that Matter: Sustaining Software Innovation from the Client to the Web Author:Marco Iansiti Abstract Economic analysis often reviews the role of principles—such as respect for intellectual property rights—in driving innovation.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 12, 2017

previously believed. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53610 in press Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Enacting Rituals to Improve Self-control By: Tian, D.A., J. Schroeder, G. Haubl, J. Risen,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September – October 2009
Article

U.S. Energy Policy: Overcoming Barriers to Acting

By: Max Bazerman

Energy policy is on everyone's mind these days. The U.S. presidential campaign focused on energy independence and exploration (drill, baby, drill), climate change, alternative fuels, even nuclear energy. But there is a serious problem endemic to America's energy... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Climate Change; Energy Sources; Government and Politics; Cognition and Thinking; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Non-Renewable Energy; Economics; Natural Environment; Energy Industry; United States

Citation

Find at Harvard

Read Now

01 Aug 2008
What Do You Think?

Has the Time Come for “Stretch” in Management?

come into fashion? For example, I was reminded of stretch when the goal of a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2040 was at least informally agreed to at a recent economic summit. In that case, the end date was conveniently set... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

30 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Do Social Movements Sway Voters? Not Really, Except for One

of Economic Research, Pons and Gethin say “protests generate substantial internet activity but have limited effects on political attitudes.” One exception: Black Lives Matter The Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 1997 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Stone Container in Honduras (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Hannah Bowles

Chicago-based Stone Container Corp., a leading producer of cardboard containers and paper bags, proposes a large-scale pine forest management and utilization program in the La Mosquitia region of Honduras. A framework agreement with the government is strongly endorsed... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Types; Environmental Sustainability; Conflict of Interests; Globalized Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Manufacturing Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Honduras; Chicago

Citation

Find at Harvard

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Religion and Business Learn From Each Other?

support to faith and work occurs. You had doers versus thinkers. You had the business community feeling [that] business is a series of actions, and the religious community thinking it's The Market. It had a feeling of faith being a very positive and constructive... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Dec 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, December 5, 2017

Social Psychology Bulletin The Amount and Source of Millionaires' Wealth (Moderately) Predicts Their Happiness By: Donnelly, Grant Edward, Tianyi Zheng, Emily Haisley, and Michael I. Norton Abstract—Two samples of more than 4,000... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Background Note

Note on International Trade Finance

By: C. Fritz Foley, Matthew Johnson and David Lane

This note provides an introduction to the financing terms and payment arrangements that support international trade. It describes the principal instruments of trade finance, the limited evidence on their relative use, and the international trade dispute resolution... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Credit; Financial Instruments; Financing and Loans; International Finance; Conflict and Resolution

Citation

Educators

Purchase

Article

Fly-by-Night Firms and the Market for Product Reviews

By: Gerald R. Faulhaber and Dennis A. Yao

This paper presents a model that permits third-party information provision in a market characterized by information asymmetries and reputation formation. The model is used to examine how the market for information provision affects prices and supply in the primary... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Reputation; SWOT Analysis; Mathematical Methods; Price Bubble; Inflation and Deflation; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Cost; Information; Quality; Price; Competitive Advantage; Information Industry

Citation

Find at Harvard

Purchase

06 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 6

of firms just above and just below the investment-grade cutoff. These firms have similar observables, including average investment rates. However, flows into high-yield mutual funds have an economically significant effect on the issuance... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs

The cult of the CEO is complex and persistent—and usually not good for business, says HBS professor Rakesh Khurana. Khurana recently fielded questions from HBS Working Knowledge senior editor Martha Lagace in an e-mail interview about his new book, Searching for a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

Authors:David Goldreich and Hanna Halaburda Abstract The economic literature on choice focuses on individuals' decisions when faced with a given menu. However, the menu itself is often the result of preselection by a menu setter. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

and financial distress—a mentally toxic combination for many. In fact, almost half of adults in the United States, 45 percent, say that worry and stress related to the coronavirus and the resulting economic downturn are hurting their... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman and Danielle Kost

September 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Engineering an Inclusive Bioeconomy

By: Tarun Khanna, Raffaella Sadun and Susie L. Ma

In 2019, entrepreneur Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio was developing a project he hoped could generate and share wealth from the natural resources of the Amazon without destroying those resources. His idea, called Earth Bank of Codes (EBC), would create a library of the... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

May 2001
Case

Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)

By: David A. Moss

Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in 19th century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British... View Details