Publications

2006
Book

A Corporate Solution to Global Poverty: How Multinationals Can Help the Poor and Invigorate Their Own Legitimacy

By: George C. Lodge and Craig Wilson

Keywords: Poverty; Multinational Firms and Management

Article

Does the Classic Microfinance Model Discourage Entrepreneurship Among the Poor? Experimental Evidence from India

By: Erica Field, Rohini Pande, John Papp and Natalia Rigol

Do the repayment requirements of the classic microfinance contract inhibit investment in high-return but illiquid business opportunities among the poor? Using a field experiment, we compare the classic contract which requires that repayment begin immediately after loan... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Poverty; Development Economics; Contracts

2008
Chapter

Public Action for Public Goods: Theory and Evidence

By: Abhijit Banerjee, Lakshmi Iyer and Rohini Somanathan

This chapter focuses on the relationship between public action and access to public goods. It begins by developing a simple model of collective action which is intended to capture the various mechanisms that are discussed in the theoretical literature on collective... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Quality; Groups and Teams; Human Needs; Poverty; Welfare or Wellbeing; Public Administration Industry

2015
Report

Growth & Shared Prosperity

By: Karen G. Mills

In June 2015, nearly 75 experienced leaders from across business, government, labor, academia, and media gathered at Harvard Business School to discuss a topic of increasing concern in America: How can our nation continue to remain competitive while also providing a... View Details

Keywords: Shared Prosperity; Wealth

September 2008
Article

Where Oil-Rich Nations Are Placing Their Bets

By: Rawi Abdelal, Ayesha Khan and Tarun Khanna

Keywords: Wealth; Energy

December 2019
Case

Noiler

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

In 2019, Nigerian entrepreneur Dr. Ayoola (Ayo) Oduntan is accelerating distribution of Noiler, a genetically optimized breed of poultry, to smallholder farmers across Nigeria. The bird was bred to be productive as a source of both meat and eggs and to thrive in the... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Poverty; Health; Growth and Development Strategy; Nigeria

Educators

28 Jun 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Scaling a Fintech Startup for the Greater Good

Keywords: Financial Services

July 2009 (Revised June 2012)
Teaching Note

Denmark: Globalization and the Welfare State (TN)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Teaching Note for [709015]. View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Government and Politics; Poverty; Denmark

2020
Working Paper

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: The Impact of Access and Value

By: Retsef Levi, Elisabeth Paulson and Georgia Perakis

The goal of this paper is to leverage household-level data to improve food-related policies aimed at increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs) among low-income households. Currently, several interventions target areas where residents have limited... View Details

Keywords: Food Deserts; Food Access; Food Policy; Causal Inference; Food; Nutrition; Poverty; Government Administration

SSRN

08 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Food Security and Human Mobility During the Covid-19 Lockdown

Keywords: by Prithwiraj Choudhury, Wesley W. Koo, Xina Li, Nishant Kishore, Satchit Balsari, and Tarun Khanna

November 2022
Article

The Sharp Spikes of Poverty: Financial Scarcity Is Related to Higher Levels of Distress Intensity in Daily Life

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Erin L. Frey, Sandra C. Matz, Bertus F. Jeronimus and Adam D. Galinsky

Although income is an important predictor of life satisfaction, the precise forces that drive this relationship remain unclear. We propose that financial resources afford individuals a path to reducing the distressing impact of everyday hassles, in turn increasing... View Details

Keywords: Distress; Affect; Control; Financial Scarcity; Life Satisfaction; Income; Poverty; Well-being

Other Unpublished Work

Notes on the Impact of Wealth in Bargaining

By: Lucy White, Chen-Ying Huang and Alan Morrison

Keywords: Negotiation; Wealth

2015
Report

The Challenge of Shared Prosperity: Findings of Harvard Business School's 2015 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Jan Rivkin, Karen G. Mills and Michael E. Porter

In the 2015 survey on U.S. competitiveness, HBS alumni weigh in on the current state and future trajectory of U.S. competitiveness as well as the structural strengths and weaknesses of the U.S. business environment. In addition, alumni delve deeper into two aspects of... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; U.S. Competitiveness; Shared Prosperity; Wealth; Competition; United States

October 1998
Case

"Pathways to Independence": Welfare-to-Work at Marriott International

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ellen Pruyne

In 1991 Marriott International established a program called Pathways to Independence to recruit and train people from the welfare rolls. The program graduated over 1,000 people in eight years and retained about 20% more of its participants than regular hires. Now the... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Retention; Training; Expansion; Quality; Poverty; Programs

Educators

January 2009
Teaching Note

The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala (TN)

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Marcelo Bucheli

Teaching Note for [805146]. View Details

Keywords: Policy; Vertical Integration; Economy; War; Poverty; Government and Politics; Food and Beverage Industry; Guatemala; North and Central America

2007
Working Paper

A Resource Belief-Curse: Oil and Individualism

By: Rafael Di Tella, Juan Dubra and Robert MacCulloch

We study the correlation between a belief concerning individualism and a measure of luck in the US during the period 1983-2004. The measure of beliefs is the answer to a question related to whether the poor should be helped by the government or if they should help... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Price; Policy; Government and Politics; Poverty; Welfare; Energy Industry; United States

April 2022
Supplement

Connecting Students in Chattanooga (B)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Manjari Raman

Keywords: K-12 Education; Pandemic; COVID-19; Accessibility; Education; Urban Development; Wealth and Poverty; Education Industry; Tennessee

January 2018
Technical Note

The Scope of Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Middle and Lower Income Countries

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

Using World Bank data, the note defines the Base of the Pyramid population as the 4.76 billion people living on less than $10/day. It briefly reviews the perspectives of key business articles that address this market, notably C.K. Prahalad’s work on Bottom of the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Poverty; Social Issues; Human Needs; Segmentation

Educators

Article

From Blood Diamonds to Dirty Gold: How to Buy Gold Less Tainted by Mercury

By: Kristin Sippl

This is a quick and easy news article on the link between poverty, mercury pollution, and gold mining. It explains the problems in the jewelry industry as well as public and civil society attempts to address them. View Details

Keywords: Mining; Pollutants; Poverty; Social Issues