Publications

Research Summary

An Unlimited Moments GMM Estimator

A short time series relative to the number of moment conditions in a GMM framework yields an inconsistent estimator. To circumvent this problem, researchers generally restrict the number of moment conditions to some fraction of the length of the time... View Details

January 2006 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and the Market for Digital Information Goods

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Andres Hervas and Jordan Mitchell

We study competitive interaction between two alternative models of digital content distribution over the Internet: peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing and centralized client-server distribution. We present microfoundations for a stylized model of p2p file sharing where all... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Distribution; Competition; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure

08 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

The Height Tax, and Other New Ways to Think about Taxation

less burdensome for all citizens. "While the idea of a height tax follows directly from the standard economic framework for tax analysis, most people find the idea crazy," allows HBS professor Matthew C. Weinzierl, an economist... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 14, 2010

http://www.people.hbs.edu/ffoley/IPRImit.pdf Venture Capital Investment in the Clean Energy Sector Authors:Shikhar Ghosh and Ramana Nanda Publication:In America's Energy Innovation Problem Abstract We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

according to market, QuikTrip uses the same store layout everywhere, along with limited product variety. "The reduced complexity that results from these decisions leads to higher employee productivity and fewer errors," says Ton. "This View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

July 2021
Article

Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet Platforms

By: Zoë Cullen and Chiara Farronato

We study the growth of online peer-to-peer markets. Using data from TaskRabbit, an expanding marketplace for domestic tasks at the time of our study, we show that growth varies considerably across cities. To disentangle the potential drivers of growth, we look... View Details

Keywords: Two-sided Market; Two-sided Platforms; Peer-to-peer Markets; Platform Strategy; Sharing Economy; Platform Growth; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Strategy; Market Design; Network Effects

Article

Better Accounting Transforms Health Care Delivery

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Mary L. Witkowski

The paper describes the theory and preliminary results for an action research program that explores the implications from better measurements of health care outcomes and costs. After summarizing Porter's outcome taxonomy (Porter 2010), we illustrate how to use process... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Research; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Case

AES Global Values

By: Lynn S. Paine

Members of the development team for the AES Corp.'s power plant project in India must decide what plant technology to specify in their application for techno-economic clearance from the government of India's Central Electric Authority. Their choice is between more... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Generation; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; India; United States

2013
Working Paper

Asset Price Dynamics with Limited Attention

By: Mark Seasholes, Terrence Hendershott, Sunny X. Li and Albert J. Menkveld

This paper studies the role that limited attention and inefficient risk sharing play in stock price deviations from the efficient prices at horizons from one day to one month. We expand the Due (2010) slow-moving capital model to analyze multiple groups of investors... View Details

Keywords: Transitory Volatility; Limited Attention; Individuals; Market Makers; Asset Pricing; Financial Markets; Volatility

Read Now

09 Aug 2017
Blog Post

"A Balance Between Autonomy and Resources to Help Me Learn."

different function.” Prior to business school, Jon had fulfilled two roles in clean energy: one at a service provider to commercial energy users in the efficiency and demand response space,” and as an... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

September 2022
Technical Note

Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the American Landscape

By: Susanna Gallani and Jacob Riegler

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have gained significant attention in recent years. A growing body of research shows that a person’s health is influenced by a large number of non-genetic factors, most of which operate outside the realm of health care and are... View Details

Keywords: Socioeconomic Determinants Of Health; Social Determinants Of Health; Population Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Social Issues; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

17 Jul 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do We Redistribute So Much but Tag So Little? The Principle of Equal Sacrifice and Optimal Taxation

Keywords: by Matthew Weinzierl

11 Sep 2019
Research & Ideas

Germany May Have the Answer for Reducing Drug Prices

market—they must demonstrate to an independent panel from the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) that a new product works better than existing options for an identifiable group of patients. The rule doesn’t apply... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

October 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Boeing 737 Industrial Footprint: The Wichita Decision

By: Willy Shih and Margaret Pierson

The case examines the circumstances leading up to the Boeing Company's decision to spin-off its Wichita Division. This case is intended to be taught with two other notes: "On the Use of Capital Efficiency Metrics," HBS No. 612-034, "Modularity in Design and... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Capital; Standards; Design; Production; Air Transportation Industry

Article

Heuristics Guide the Implementation of Social Preferences in One-Shot Prisoner's Dilemma Experiments

By: Jillian J. Jordan, Valerio Capraro and David G. Rand

Cooperation in one-shot anonymous interactions is a widely documented aspect of human behavior. Here we shed light on the motivations behind this behavior by experimentally exploring cooperation in a one-shot continuous-strategy Prisoner’s Dilemma (i.e. one-shot... View Details

Keywords: Human Behavior; Social Evolution; Behavior; Cooperation; Decision Making; Game Theory

Read Now

15 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: January 15

into account, significant differences emerge between taxes that are equivalent in standard models but generate different information on taxable transactions. Download the paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=43830 When Supply-Chain... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2012
Chapter

Citizens' Perceptions and the Disconnect Between Economics and Regulatory Policy

By: Jonathan Baron, William T. McEnroe and Christopher Poliquin

Economic theory is clear about the advantages and disadvantages of various ways of regulating negative externalities, such as command and control, cap and trade, taxation, subsidies, and tort law. Yet public policy rarely follows the recommendations that follow from... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Decision Making; Government and Politics; United States

November 1984 (Revised December 1988)
Case

Gulf Oil Corp.--Takeover

Gulf Oil was pressured into liquidation while under attack by Boone Pickens of Mesa Petroleum Co. Gulf management was unsure whether to sell out or take the firm private. A suitor, Standard Oil of California, tries to decide how much, if anything, to bid for the... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Bids and Bidding; Acquisition; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; United States