Publications

November 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Background Note

Note on Tax and Accounting Treatment of Restricted Stock Awards, Nonqualified Stock Options, and Incentive Stock Options and the Securities Law Applicable Thereto

Outlines the tax and accounting treatment of restricted stock awards, nonqualified stock options, and incentive stock options, including the effect of making a Section 83(b) election for unvested stock. View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Taxation; Accounting

February 2016 (Revised February 2018)
Case

The Battle over the Initiative and Referendum in Massachusetts (1918)

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

On Election Day in 1918, Massachusetts voters would have to decide not only on their preferred candidates for governor and U.S. Senator, but also whether or not to approve 19 proposed amendments to the state constitution. By far the most controversial of these would... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government Legislation; Power and Influence; History; Massachusetts

23 Jun 2020
Book

Beginning America Over Again with a New Electoral System

Created by the people for the people, the American political system is instead "a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between players," according to a new book... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2024
Chapter

The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy

By: Dean Grodzins and David Moss

This chapter examines the U.S. secession crisis of 1860–1861 as a case of democratic breakdown. From December 1860 to early June 1861, eleven of the fifteen slaveholding states in the U.S. South declared secession from the Union. The trigger for the crisis was Abraham... View Details

Keywords: War; History; Political Elections; United States

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December 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Background Note

Advanced Competitive Strategy, Notes for Educators: 1. An Overview of the Course

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Captures for educators the concepts, tools, and practice conveyed to students in the Harvard Business School elective course Advanced Competitive Strategy: Integrating the Enterprise. Intended to hone students as integrators. View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Practice; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Education Industry

2012
Article

Do Voters Demand Responsive Governments? Evidence from Indian Disaster Relief

By: Shawn Cole, Andrew Healy and Eric Werker

Using rainfall, public relief, and election data from India, we examine how governments respond to adverse shocks and how voters react to these responses. The data show that voters punish the incumbent party for weather events beyond its control. However, fewer voters... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; System Shocks; Natural Disasters; Policy; Motivation and Incentives; Public Opinion; India

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14 Jun 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Expressive Voting and Its Cost: Evidence from Runoffs with Two or Three Candidates

Keywords: by Vincent Pons and Clémence Tricaud

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Power Dynamics in Organizations

By: Linda A. Hill

Designed to introduce the concepts of power and power dynamics to students in the MBA second-year elective course Power and Influence. Defines "power" and "influence," and explores the role of power dynamics in managerial work and in the life of organizations. Combats... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Organizations; Conflict and Resolution

February 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

India: State Capacity and Unity in Diversity

By: Alberto Cavallo, Matthew Weinzierl and Robert Scherf

As 2018 drew to a close, India prepared to once again carry out the largest democratic exercise in human history, as in less than six months more than 850 million eligible voters would have the chance to choose their representatives to the Lok Sabha—the country’s lower... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government and Politics; Leadership; Public Opinion; India

30 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

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

important implications in an election year marked by widespread protests. Harvard Business School Professor Vincent Pons teamed up with Amory Gethin, a fellow economist at the World Bank Development Research Group, to study 14 major... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2017
Article

The Political Economy of Financial Innovation: Evidence from Local Governments

By: Christophe Pérignon and Boris Vallée

We examine the toxic loans sold by investment banks to local governments. Using proprietary data, we show that politicians strategically use these products to increase chances of being re-elected. Consistent with greater incentives to hide the cost of debt, toxic loans... View Details

Keywords: Financial Innovation; Political Elections; Financing and Loans; Innovation and Invention

February 2008 (Revised August 2014)
Case

MedVal Ventures

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Is medical travel a viable business opportunity? A group of MBA students consider the pros and cons of starting a business that would send people from the U.S. to India for elective non-emergency surgeries. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Cost Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Travel Industry; India; United States

October 2000 (Revised April 2003)
Background Note

Project Finance Research, Data, and Information Sources

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Fuaad Qureshi

Documents the major sources of project finance research and data. It is to be a reference guide for MBA students writing for the elective curriculum course, Large-scale Investment, and for others interested in the field of project finance. View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Project Finance; Research; Investment

19 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Stories of 2016

the chicken-and-egg challenge of how companies can attract their first customers. Donald Trump’s Winning Marketing Manual Donald Trump's upset election win offers six lessons for marketing professionals, says John A. Quelch. When... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

August 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan

By: Robert F. White and Tom Quinn

After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election – Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump – the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Cost vs Benefits; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawfulness; Failure; System Shocks; United States

11 Feb 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change Your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France

Keywords: by Vincent Pons; Public Relations; Public Administration

February 2007 (Revised February 2007)
Module Note

The International Financial Architecture

By: Rawi E. Abdelal

The International Financial Architecture is one of the core modules of Managing International Trade and Investment, an elective course at Harvard Business School. Provides instructors with an overview of the module, the cases and readings, and the teaching notes. View Details

Keywords: International Finance

April 2006
Background Note

Legal Aspects of Management: Increasing and Capturing the Value of Knowledge Assets

Describes the third module of the Harvard Business School MBA second-year elective course Legal Aspects of Management. This module deals with the way in which intellectual property rights--as protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets--enable firms... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Patents; Competitive Advantage; Trademarks; Copyright