Publications

February 2016
Case

BancoSol and Microfinance in Bolivia

By: Rajiv Lal and Annelena Lobb

BancoSol, a microfinance bank headquartered in La Paz, Bolivia, was forced to adjust its lending strategy and business model because of a regulatory change—60% of the bank's lending portfolio would have to move to the productive sector of the Bolivian economy by 2018,... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Banks and Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Model; Strategy; South America; Bolivia

1978
Book

Taxation and Mining: Non Fuel Minerals in Bolivia and Other Countries

By: L. T. Wells Jr., Malcolm Gillis and Meyer W. Bucovetsky

Keywords: Taxation; Mining; Metals and Minerals; Bolivia

April 2007
Case

Microfinance in Bolivia: A Meeting with the President of the Republic

By: Michael Chu

Herbert Muller, chair of leading microfinance bank BancoSol, has met with Evo Morales one year after the populist leader's inauguration as president of Bolivia and proceeds to write an email to his fellow board directors. The bank is world famous for pioneering... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Race; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Microfinance; Poverty; Interest Rates; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia; South America

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September 2022
Case

BancoSol: Financial Inclusion in the Perfect Storm

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

In the pandemic, financial inclusion icon BancoSol faces a government-mandated year-long deferral of all loan payments, followed by the sudden Covid death of its CEO. In a Bolivia mired in political turmoil following a failed presidential election, with clients not... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Crisis Management; Management Succession; Business Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Restructuring; Financial Services Industry; Latin America; Bolivia

01 Sep 2020
News

Navigating the Populism Phenomenon

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Petrobras in Ecuador (A)

By: Aldo Musacchio, Lena G. Goldberg and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

On October 18, 2007, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa announced his intention to migrate Petrobras' existing participation contracts to exploit oil reserves in Ecuador's Blocks 18 and 31 to servicing agreements under which Petrobras would be paid a production fee and... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Governance; Government Administration; Taxation; Contracts; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Public Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Brazil; Ecuador

09 Jan 2008
Working Paper Summaries

A Resource Belief-Curse: Oil and Individualism

Keywords: by Rafael M. Di Tella, Juan Dubra & Robert MacCulloch; Energy; Utilities

Web

Request the Data - Leadership

Belarus Belgium Belize Bolivia Bosnia-Herzegovina Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Cambodia Cameroon Canada Chile China, People's Republic of Columbia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El... View Details

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Propose an Independent Project - MBA

Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia-Herzegovina Botswana Burkina Faso Brazil British Virgin Isl. British Solomon Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde... View Details

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Participating Institutions - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Sciences Wiener Neustadt (Wiener Neustadt) Bangladesh University of Dhaka (Dhaka) Belgium Université Libre de Bruxelles (Brussels) Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels) Bolivia Universidad Católica Boliviana (La Paz) Brazil Faculdade... View Details

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Request more information | HBS Courses | HBS Online

Please Select - Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Vincent Pons

Professor Pons studies questions in political economy and development with the goal of understanding how democratic systems function, and how they can be improved.

He decomposes the electoral cycle into four essential steps: the factors affecting voter... View Details

02 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

Why COVID-19 Probably Killed More People Than We Realize

Reporting of COVID-19 Deaths. At the highest end, Ecuador and Bolivia had 2.5 times more unexplained deaths per month than they typically saw when the researchers compared 2020 figures to historic totals over the previous three to five... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

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Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business | HBS Online

Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Bonaire Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde... View Details

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

innovative practices or foster sustainability?” Giacomin sees a number of other research opportunities for studying clusters. Most of the world’s lithium—now in high demand because it’s used in so many electronic products and electric car batteries—is mined in View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

March 2003
Teaching Note

Bolivia: Globalization, Sovereignty, or Democracy?

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Huw Pill

Teaching Note for (9-702-086). View Details

Keywords: Bolivia

April 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

BANEX and the No Pago Movement (B)

By: Shawn Cole and Baily Blair Kempner

This case examines Grassroots Capital's decision of whether or not to continue investing in a Bolivian microfinance bank that is suffering financial distress. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Microfinance; Investment; Government and Politics; Crisis Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia

April 2011 (Revised March 2021)
Case

BANEX and the No Pago Movement (A)

By: Shawn Cole and Baily Blair Kempner

This case examines Grassroots Capital's decision of whether or not to continue investing in a Bolivian microfinance bank that is suffering financial distress. View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Political Risk; Microfinance; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Government and Politics; Investment; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry; Bolivia

June 2002 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Bolivia: Globalization, Sovereignty, or Democracy?

By: Rafael M. Di Tella, Huw Pill, Miguel Lopez de Silanes Gomez, Cinthia Fernholz Violand and Ingrid Vogel

Describes the economic stabilization program implemented by the Bolivian government in 1985 to 1986 and its impact on the development process in Bolivia. View Details

Keywords: History; Programs; Development Economics; Inflation and Deflation; Globalization; Government and Politics; Bolivia