Shawn A. Cole
John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration
John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration
This paper evaluates the role of mobile phone-based advice in improving managerial practices of small-scale cotton farmers in Gujarat, India. Demand for the service, “Avaaj Otalo,” is strong, even among farmers with very low levels of education. The service dramatically alters farmers information acquisition behavior, with connected farmers relying less on other farmers and agricultural input dealers. Management practices improve: we observe an increase in the adoption of more effective and less toxic pesticides, and farmers plant cumin, a profitable but risky crop, earlier in the season. Farmers appear willing to follow advice without understanding why the advice is correct: the average respondent does not demonstrate improved agricultural knowledge
This paper uses a series of experiments with commercial bank loan officers to test the effect of performance incentives on risk-assessment and lending decisions. We first show that, while high-powered incentives lead to greater screening effort and more profitable lending, their power is muted by both deferred compensation and the limited liability typically enjoyed by credit officers. Second, we present direct evidence that incentive contracts distort judgment and beliefs, even among trained professionals with many years of experience. Loans evaluated under more permissive incentive schemes are rated significantly less risky than the same loans evaluated under pay-for-performance.
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 punish the ruling party when its government responds vigorously to the crisis, indicating that voters reward the government for responding to disasters. We also find evidence suggesting that voters only respond to rainfall and government relief efforts during the year immediately preceding the election. In accordance with these electoral incentives, governments appear to be more generous with disaster relief in election years. These results describe how failures in electoral accountability can lead to suboptimal policy outcomes.
Shawn Cole is the John G. McLean Professor in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches and conducts research on financial services, impact investing, and Social Enterprise. He serves as faculty chair of the Social Enterprise Initiative.
Much of his research examines corporate and household finance in emerging markets, with a focus on insurance, credit, and savings. He has also done extensive work on financial education in the US and emerging markets. His recent research focuses on designing and delivering advice and education over mobile phones, with an emphasis on agricultural and financial management.
He has worked in China, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam. He is an affiliate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development. He is on the board of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, as the faculty lead on Corporate Engagement. He is an affiliate of Harvard’s Center for International Development.
At HBS, he has taught FIN1 and FIN2 in the core curriculum, Business at the Base of the Pyramid, and courses on impact investing, as well as various executive education courses, and the Ph.D. development sequence in the department of Economics.
Before joining the Harvard Business School, Professor Cole worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the economic research department. He has served on the Boston Federal Reserve's Community Development Research Advisory Council, served as an external advisor to the Gates Foundation, and was the chair of the endowment management committee of the Telluride Association, a non-profit educational organization. He is a cofounder and board member of a non-profit, Precision Agriculture for Development.
He received a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005, where he was an NSF and Javits Fellow, and an A.B. in Economics and German Literature from Cornell University. His work on insurance earned the 2015 Shin Research Excellence Award; in 2015 he was also named given a Faculty Pioneer Award from the Aspen Institute.
- Featured Work
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There is growing interest in impact investing, the idea of deploying capital to obtain both financial and social or environmental returns. Examination of every equity investment made by the International Finance Corporation, one of the largest and longest-operating impact investors, across 130 emerging market and developing economies shows that this portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 by 15 percent. Investments in larger economies have higher returns, and returns decline as banking systems deepen and countries relax capital controls. These results are consistent with imperfect integration of international capital markets, and a core thesis of impact investing that some eligible markets do not receive sufficient investment capital.
This paper evaluates the role of mobile phone-based advice in improving managerial practices of small-scale cotton farmers in Gujarat, India. Demand for the service, “Avaaj Otalo,” is strong, even among farmers with very low levels of education. The service dramatically alters farmers information acquisition behavior, with connected farmers relying less on other farmers and agricultural input dealers. Management practices improve: we observe an increase in the adoption of more effective and less toxic pesticides, and farmers plant cumin, a profitable but risky crop, earlier in the season. Farmers appear willing to follow advice without understanding why the advice is correct: the average respondent does not demonstrate improved agricultural knowledge
Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan OfficersThis paper uses a series of experiments with commercial bank loan officers to test the effect of performance incentives on risk-assessment and lending decisions. We first show that, while high-powered incentives lead to greater screening effort and more profitable lending, their power is muted by both deferred compensation and the limited liability typically enjoyed by credit officers. Second, we present direct evidence that incentive contracts distort judgment and beliefs, even among trained professionals with many years of experience. Loans evaluated under more permissive incentive schemes are rated significantly less risky than the same loans evaluated under pay-for-performance.
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 punish the ruling party when its government responds vigorously to the crisis, indicating that voters reward the government for responding to disasters. We also find evidence suggesting that voters only respond to rainfall and government relief efforts during the year immediately preceding the election. In accordance with these electoral incentives, governments appear to be more generous with disaster relief in election years. These results describe how failures in electoral accountability can lead to suboptimal policy outcomes.
- Books
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- Cole, Shawn, Iqbal Dhaliwal, Anja Sautmann, and Lars Vilhuber, eds. Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-based Policy. Cambridge, MA: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), 2020. View Details
- Journal Articles
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- Mukherjee, Anita, Shawn Cole, and Jeremy Tobacman. "Targeting Weather Insurance Markets." Journal of Risk and Insurance 88, no. 3 (September 2021): 757–784. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Benjamin Iverson, and Peter Tufano. "Can Gambling Increase Savings? Empirical Evidence on Prize-Linked Savings Accounts." Management Science 68, no. 5 (May 2022): 3282–3308. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and A. Nilesh Fernando. "'Mobile'izing Agricultural Advice: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Sustainability." Economic Journal 131, no. 633 (January 2021): 192–219. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Martin Abel, and Bilal Zia. "Changing Gambling Behavior through Experiential Learning." World Bank Economic Review 35, no. 3 (October 2021): 745–763. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., A. Nilesh Fernando, Daniel Stein, and Jeremy Tobacman. "Field Comparisons of Incentive-Compatible Preference Elicitation Techniques." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 172 (April 2020): 33–56. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., William Pariente, and Anja Sautmann. "A Revolution in Economics? It's Just Getting Started..." Art. 104849. World Development 127 (March 2020). View Details
- Carpena, Fenella, Shawn A. Cole, Jeremy Shapiro, and Bilal Zia. "The ABCs of Financial Education: Experimental Evidence on Attitudes, Behavior, and Cognitive Biases." Management Science 65, no. 1 (January 2019): 346–369. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Wentao Xiong. "Agricultural Insurance and Economic Development." Annual Review of Economics 9 (2017): 235–262. View Details
- Anagol, Santosh, Shawn Cole, and Shayak Sarkar. "Understanding the Advice of Commissions-Motivated Agents: Evidence from the Indian Life Insurance Market." Review of Economics and Statistics 99, no. 1 (March 2017). View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Anna Paulson, and Gauri Kartini Shastry. "High School Curriculum and Financial Outcomes: The Impact of Mandated Personal Finance and Mathematics Courses." Journal of Human Resources 51, no. 3 (Summer 2016): 656–698. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Martin Kanz, and Leora Klapper. "Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers." Journal of Finance 70, no. 2 (April 2015): 537–575. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Anna Paulson, and Gauri Kartini Shastry. "Smart Money? The Effect of Education on Financial Outcomes." Review of Financial Studies 27, no. 7 (July 2014): 2022–2051. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Daniel Stein, and Jeremy Tobacman. "Dynamics of Demand for Index Insurance: Evidence from a Long-Run Field Experiment." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 104, no. 5 (May 2014): 284–290. View Details
- Carpena, Fenella, Shawn Cole, Jeremy Shapiro, and Bilal Zia. "Liability Structure in Small-Scale Finance." World Bank Economic Review 27, no. 3 (2013): 437–469. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Xavier Gine, Jeremy Tobacman, Petia Topalova, Robert M. Townsend, and James Vickery. "Barriers to Household Risk Management: Evidence from India." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 5, no. 1 (January 2013): 104–135. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Andrew Healy, and Eric Werker. "Do Voters Demand Responsive Governments? Evidence from Indian Disaster Relief." Journal of Development Economics 97, no. 2 (March 2012): 167–181. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Thomas Sampson, and Bilal Zia. "Prices or Knowledge? What Drives Demand for Financial Services in Emerging Markets?" Journal of Finance 66, no. 6 (December 2011): 1933–1967. View Details
- Gaurav, Sarthak, Shawn A. Cole, and Jeremy Tobacman. "Marketing Complex Financial Products in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Rainfall Insurance in India." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 48, no. SPL (November 2011): S150–S162. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "Financial Development, Bank Ownership, and Growth. Or, Does Quantity Imply Quality?" Review of Economics and Statistics 91, no. 1 (February 2009): 33–51. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "Fixing Market Failures or Fixing Elections? Elections, Banks and Agricultural Lending in India." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 1, no. 1 (January 2009): 219–50. View Details
- Banerjee, A., Shawn A. Cole, E. Duflo, and L. Linden. "Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India." Quarterly Journal of Economics 122, no. 3 (August 2007): 1235–1264. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "Capitalism and Freedom: Slavery and Manumission in Louisiana, 1725-1820." Journal of Economic History 65, no. 4 (December 2005). View Details
- Book Chapters
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- Anagol, Santosh, Shawn A. Cole, and Shayak Sarkar. "Comparative Regulation of Market Intermediaries: Insights from the Indian Life Insurance Market." Chap. 12 in Modernizing Insurance Regulation, edited by John H. Biggs and Matthew P. Richardson. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2014. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Thomas Sampson, and Bilal Zia. "Valuing Financial Literacy." Chap. 12 in Banking the World: Empirical Foundations of Financial Inclusion, edited by Robert Cull, Asli Demirguc-Kunt, and Jonathan Morduch, 415–428. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Anh Tran. "Evidence from the Firm: A New Approach to Understanding Corruption." Chap. 14 in International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption, Volume 2, edited by Susan Rose-Ackerman and Tina Soreide, 408–427. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Peter Tufano, and John Thompson. "Where Does It Go? Spending by the Financially Constrained." Chap. 2 in Borrowing to Live: Consumer and Mortgage Credit Revisited, edited by Nicolas P. Retsinas and Eric S. Belsky, 65–91. Brookings Institution Press, 2008. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., A. Banerjee, and E. Duflo. "Bank Financing in India." In India's and China's Recent Experience with Reform and Growth, edited by Wanda Tseng and David Cowen. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., A. Banerjee, and E. Duflo. "Banking Reform in India." In India Policy Forum. Vol. 1, edited by Arvind Panagariya, Barry Bosworth, and Suman Bery, 277–323. Brookings Institution Press, 2004. View Details
- Working Papers
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- Athey, Susan, Shawn Cole, Shanjukta Nath, and Jessica Zhu. "Targeting, Personalization, and Engagement in an Agricultural Advisory Service." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-006, August 2023. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin N. Roth. "What Do Impact Investors Do Differently?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-028, November 2023. (Reject and Resubmit, Journal of Financial Economics.) View Details
- Burton, M. Diane, Gurveen Chadha, Shawn A. Cole, Abhishek Dev, Christina Jarymowycz, Leslie Jeng, Laura Kelley, Josh Lerner, Jaime R. Diaz Palacios, Yue (Cynthia) Xu, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Studying the U.S.-Based Portfolio Companies of U.S. Impact Investors." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-130, June 2021. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Martin Melecky, Florian Mölders, and Tristan Reed. "Long-Run Returns to Impact Investing in Emerging Markets." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-138, September 2024. (Revised September 2024. NBER Working Paper Series, No. 27870, September 2024) View Details
- Burton, M. Diane, Shawn Cole, Abhishek Dev, Christina Jarymowycz, Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Fanele Mashwama, Yue (Cynthia) Xu, and T. Robert Zochowski. "The Project on Impact Investments' Impact Investment Database." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-117, May 2020. (Revised August 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., T. Robert Zochowski, Fanele Mashwama, and Heather McPherson. "Anchors Aweigh: Analysis of Anchor Limited Partner Investors in Impact Investment Funds." Working Paper, May 2020. View Details
- Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, Shawn A. Cole, John Ehrenfeld, Andrew A. King, and Auden Schendler. "Understanding and Overcoming Roadblocks to Environmental Sustainability. Past Roads and Future Prospects." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-067, January 2019. View Details
- Cases and Teaching Materials
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- Cole, Shawn, and Jonah Zahnd. "Politics Comes to ESG Investing." Harvard Business School Background Note 224-107, June 2024. (Revised June 2024.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Root Capital and the Efficient Impact Frontier Simulation Dataset for Students." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 224-710, September 2023. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Root Capital and the Efficient Impact Frontier Simulation: Guidelines and Suggestions." Harvard Business School Supplement 224-034, September 2023. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Lynn Schenk. "Goldman Sachs: Making an Imprint in Impact Investing." Harvard Business School Case 218-069, April 2018. (Revised May 2018.) View Details
- Kramer, Mark, Shawn Cole, Vikram S. Gandhi, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Engine No. 1: An Impact Investing Firm Engages with ExxonMobil." Harvard Business School Case 222-028, October 2021. (Revised May 2023.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris, and John Masko. "Public Equities Impact Investing at BlackRock." Harvard Business School Case 221-066, April 2021. (Revised July 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., John Masko, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 221-081, March 2021. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., John Masko, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Making Impact Investing Markets: IFC (A)." Harvard Business School Case 221-061, March 2021. (Revised April 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "Mike McCreless- Root Capital." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 221-702, August 2020. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "Nancy Pfund DBL Partners." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 221-701, August 2020. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Michael Norris, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Mission Related Investments at the Ford Foundation (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 220-027, February 2020. (Revised September 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Michael Norris, and T. Robert Zochowski. "Mission Related Investments at the Ford Foundation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 220-026, February 2020. (Revised January 2022.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Fanele Mashwama. "Tracy Palandjian, Social Finance." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 220-705, October 2019. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Lynn Schenk. "Thierry Deau, Founder and CEO, Meridiam." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 220-703, October 2019. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Lynn Schenk. "Eric Rice, Patrick Kent, Quyen Tran, Wendy Cromwell; Wellington Global Impact." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 220-704, October 2019. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Radhika Kak. "Background Note: Introduction to Sustainable Investing." Harvard Business School Background Note 218-072, January 2018. (Revised August 2024.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Investing in Nature: The Nature Conservancy and NatureVest 2018." Harvard Business School Case 219-055, November 2018. (Revised January 2019.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Fanele Mashwama. "Social Finance, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 219-044, October 2018. (Revised January 2019.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Root Capital and the Efficient Impact Frontier." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 219-043, October 2018. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "SJF Ventures—Transforming Transportation with TransLoc?" Harvard Business School Case 219-031, September 2018. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Acumen—Managing Towards Impact 2018." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 219-024, August 2018. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram S. Gandhi, and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Investing: Risk, Return & Impact." Harvard Business School Course Overview Note 219-005, June 2018. (Revised November 2020.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme, and Radika Kak. "Background Note: Managing and Measuring Impact." Harvard Business School Background Note 218-115, April 2018. (Revised September 2024.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram Gandhi, and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Background Note: Examining the Case for Sustainable Investing." Harvard Business School Background Note 218-083, March 2018. (Revised June 2022.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, V. Kasturi Rangan, Alnoor Ebrahim, and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Acumen and Lean Data 2018." Harvard Business School Case 218-086, January 2018. (Revised November 2018.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Boris Vallée, and Nicole Tempest Keller. "OpenInvest." Harvard Business School Case 218-064, February 2018. (Revised August 2018.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Caitlin Reimers Brumme. "Root Capital and the Efficient Impact Frontier." Harvard Business School Case 218-084, February 2018. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Lynn Schenk. "Meridiam Infrastructure Africa: Madagascar Airports." Harvard Business School Case 218-068, February 2018. (Revised December 2019.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Lynn Schenk. "Wellington Global Impact." Harvard Business School Case 218-067, February 2018. (Revised October 2018.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Tony L He. "Acumen Fund: Lean Data in 2017." Harvard Business School Case 217-072, March 2017. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Vikram Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers, and Yannick Saleman. "Microfinance in India 2010-2016: Crisis and Recovery." Harvard Business School Supplement 217-070, March 2017. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Theresa Chen. "SKS Microfinance (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 217-069, March 2017. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Tony L. He. "Mindspark: Improving Educational Outcomes in India." Harvard Business School Case 217-060, March 2017. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Tony L. He. "Generation Investment Management: 2016." Harvard Business School Case 217-031, September 2016. (Revised May 2019.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Tony L. He. "Farmers Business Network: Putting Farmers First." Harvard Business School Case 217-025, September 2016. (Revised August 2018.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Mark Kramer, Tony L. He, Anshul Maudar, and T. Robert Zochowski. "DBL Partners: Double Bottom Line Venture Capital." Harvard Business School Case 217-022, September 2016. (Revised March 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, Andreas Rotenberg, and Thomas van den Aarssen. "Nirvana Vihar Rehabilitation Homes." Harvard Business School Case 217-013, August 2016. (Revised October 2016.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Introduction to Financial Services for the Global Poor." Harvard Business School Background Note 214-024, August 2013. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Financial Services for the World's Poor." Harvard Business School Module Note 213-107, March 2013. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "SKS and the AP Microfinance Crisis (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 213-092, March 2013. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 213-091, March 2013. View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "Social Finance, Inc. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 213-090, March 2013. (Revised March 2013.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn. "BANEX and the No Pago Movement (TN) (A) and (B) ." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 213-101, February 2013. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Peter Tufano. "BASIX (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 213-035, September 2012. View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Lilei Xu. "China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor." Harvard Business School Case 212-030, November 2011. (Revised March 2013.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Yannick Saleman. "SKS and the AP Microfinance Crisis." Harvard Business School Case 212-018, October 2011. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
- Bergstresser, Daniel Baird, Shawn A. Cole, and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai. "UBS and Auction Rate Securities (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 209-131, March 2009. (Revised October 2011.) View Details
- Bergstresser, Daniel Baird, Shawn A. Cole, and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai. "UBS and Auction Rate Securities (A)." Harvard Business School Case 209-119, March 2009. (Revised September 2011.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Baily Blair Kempner. "BANEX and the No Pago Movement (A)." Harvard Business School Case 211-092, April 2011. (Revised March 2021.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn, and Baily Blair Kempner. "BANEX and the No Pago Movement (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 211-102, April 2011. (Revised March 2013.) View Details
- Bergstresser, Daniel Baird, Shawn A. Cole, and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai. "UBS and Auction Rate Securities (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 209-135, March 2009. (Revised April 2010.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Daniel Baird Bergstresser, and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai. "UBS and Auction Rate Securities (TN) (A), (B), and (C)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 209-122, April 2009. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "SKS Microfinance (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 209-132, April 2009. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "First National Bank's Golden Opportunity (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 209-123, April 2009. View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Theresa Chen. "SKS Microfinance." Harvard Business School Case 208-137, May 2008. (Revised March 2009.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., Peter Tufano, Daniel Schneider, and Daryl Collins. "First National Bank's Golden Opportunity." Harvard Business School Case 208-072, October 2007. (Revised March 2008.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A., and Peter Tufano. "BASIX." Harvard Business School Case 207-099, February 2007. (Revised October 2007.) View Details
- Cole, Shawn A. "BASIX (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 208-017, September 2007. View Details
- Tufano, Peter, and Shawn A. Cole. "BASIX Simulation Model." Harvard Business School Background Note 207-108, February 2007. View Details
- Other Publications and Materials
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- Cole, Shawn A., and Gauri Kartini Shastry. "Is High School the Right Time to Teach Self-control? The Effect of Financial Education and Mathematics Courses on Savings Behavior." June 2010. View Details
- Teaching
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Shawn Cole regularly teaches executive education. He has taught in the ACCION microfinance in the HBS-ACCION Microfinance Program on Strategic Leadership, Develop India, Real Estate Executive Seminar, and the program on Consumer Financial Services.
This course, intended for second-year PhD students in economics and related fields, is taught by Michael Kremer, Phillippe Aghion, and Shawn Cole.
Part I (Kremer) of the course will cover macro-economic topics including aggregate and non-aggregate growth models, models of technology diffusion and choice, and population growth, as well as cultural factors (e.g. reputation, trust, and social norms) affecting economic development.Part II (Aghion) will be a selection of topics related to economic growth, among them club convergence, trade, competition, volatility, education, health, and the environment.
Part III (Cole) of the course is intended to bring students to the forefront of research on finance in emerging markets. Topics will include the relationship between financial development and economic growth, consumer finance; small and medium enterprise finance; debt and equity markets; the role of management and corporate governance; the political economy of finance, and corruption.
This is an investing/finance course, designed to build on skills introduced in the RC finance course, but with an emphasis on how and whether investors should incorporate what have traditionally been considered “non-financial” criteria in their decisions: for example, climate risk, environmental sustainability, minority representation on boards, and even the potential to create social good. Covering both public and private markets, the course will present rigorous approaches to business model assessment, valuation, transaction structuring and exits, as well as equity selection and portfolio construction. The course also explores incentives, decision-making, and the crucial problems and opportunities within the industry itself.
This course is geared toward students interested in working in the investment industry - whether directly, as an asset manager/investor, advisor or private individual, or indirectly as an entrepreneur or operator receiving investment capital. We will emphasize practical skills, including pitching stocks, performing diligence, measuring impact, and evaluating portfolio performance.
This course will be differentiated from other excellent offerings at HBS by focusing on the intersection of investing/finance and key global challenges, guided for example by the Sustainable Development Goals, including climate, gender equality, and poverty reduction. Emphasis will be placed on the analytical tools needed to understand the financial perspective and make investing decisions; however, students will also be learn to rigorously assess investments in the context of non-financial objectives. Investing - Risk, Return, and Impact is a finance course, which could be taken on a stand-alone basis or as a complement to Private Equity Finance, VC/PE, and Entrepreneurial Finance, Investment Management or Investment Strategies.
- Awards & Honors
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Winner of the 2015 Shin Research Excellence Award from The Geneva Association and the IIS (International Insurance Society) for his work on insurance.Winner of the 2021 Teaching Recognition Award for Excellence in Sustainable Finance Education from the Financial Times and the Impact and Sustainable Finance Faculty Consortium for the course, "Investing for Risk, Return, and Impact," developed with Vikram Gandhi.Won the 2015 Faculty Pioneer Award from The Aspen Institute for work on Business and Society.
- Additional Information
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