Publications

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Business, Government & the International Economy Curriculum - Faculty & Research

2026 Q3 1.5 Business of Ideas Caroline Elkins Fall 2025 Q2 1.5 Capitalism and the State (CATS) (also listed under General Management) Debora L. Spar Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Capitalism: Past, Present, Future Sophus A. Reinert Fall 2025 Q1Q2 3.0 Creating the Modern View Details

Forthcoming
Article

Who Values Democracy?

By: Max Miller

This paper examines the conventional view that redistribution is central to the democratization process using data from stock markets. Consistent with this view, democratizations have a large, negative impact on asset valuations driven by a rise in redistribution risk.... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Financial Markets; Valuation

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Our Curriculum - Business History

worldwide. The premise of the course is that students will gain a richer and more intuitive understanding of modern financial markets and organizations by examining where these institutions came from and how... View Details

01 Nov 2016
First Look

First Look - November 1, 2016

emerging market firms raise external capital, they face a tradeoff where greater transparency may lead to a lower cost of capital but at the cost of revealing proprietary information in their relational business practices. We find that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

BlueVine Capital: Growth Factors

By: Marco Di Maggio and Nathaniel Schwalb

The start-up, BlueVine Capital Inc. (BlueVine), used data and technology to help finance small businesses via factoring and lines of credit. The case explains the small business financing market in mid-2010s, how CEO Eyal Lifshitz identified the opportunity for... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Startups; Small Business; Financing and Loans; Innovation Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

overcome decades of TV footage of soldiers and tanks that linger in the mind. To Harvard Business School marketing professor Elie Ofek, it’s more proof that influencing long-held perceptions about a region requires more strategic... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States

25 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

The Dark Side of Fintech Borrowing

that fintechs attract a different type of loan-seeker—one with a higher propensity to overspend—which is not something easily captured in their credit reports. The rise of fintechs Fintech lending’s popularity exploded in the years following the View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services; Financial Services

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Africa; United States

2016
Chapter

Forward Guidance in the Yield Curve: Short Rates versus Bond Supply

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Gregory Hanson and Dimitri Vayanos

We present a model of the yield curve in which the central bank can provide market participants with forward guidance on both future short rates and on future Quantitative Easing (QE) operations, which affect bond supply. Forward guidance on short rates works through... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Financial Markets

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08 Sep 2022
Book

Gen Xers and Millennials, It’s Time To Lead. Are You Ready?

from decades of teaching students from the Gen X, Millennial, and Gen Z eras. George and coauthor Zach Clayton, CEO of the digital marketing firm Three Ships, urge young leaders to usher in a new way of doing business—one based on... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

22 Feb 2018
Book

The New History of American Capitalism

Since the start of the 2000s, historians have renewed their interest in capitalism, two Harvard professors observe in their new book, American Capitalism: New Histories. One of the primary contributing factors for this, according to Sven Beckert and Christine Desan, is... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

Web

Events - Business History

Financial Cooperation from International Organizations (1960s-1970s)" 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm. Part of the 2025 Business History Seminar, "Rethinking Entrepreneurial History," co-organized by Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski. Nov 10 10 Nov... View Details

2011
Working Paper

The Cost of Capital for Alternative Investments

By: Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford

This paper studies the cost of capital for alternative investments. We document that the risk profile of the aggregate hedge fund universe can be accurately matched by a simple index put option writing strategy that offers monthly liquidity and complete transparency... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Investment Return; Mathematical Methods; Risk and Uncertainty

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September 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Spyder Active Sports - 2004

By: Belen Villalonga, Dwight B. Crane and James Quinn

David Jacobs founded a high-end ski apparel company in 1978. He successfully built and grew the company, establishing a major international brand that appealed to ski racers and other active skiers. In 1995, he sought external financing to support further growth of the... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Brands and Branding; Wealth; Family Business; Financing and Loans; Globalization; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

22 Nov 2023
News

So You Want to Join a Startup

sells, There's enough left over after the preferred shareholders get paid out that the common shareholders get paid out. There's so many risks that startups have to go through in order to reach success, right? There's technology risk, there's View Details

March 2011 (Revised May 2011)
Supplement

China Construction America (B): The Baha Mar Resort Deal

Why is a Chinese state-owned construction company building the largest mega-resort and casino in the Caribbean? This case examines the intricate deal-making by which CSCEC, China's leading global engineering and construction contractor, emerged as a key market player.... View Details

Keywords: Project Finance; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Financial Strategy; Construction Industry; Tourism Industry; China; Bahamas

April 2002
Case

Sally Jameson: Valuing Stock Options in a Compensation Package (Abridged)

By: Peter Tufano

Details a thinly disguised situation facing a recent Harvard MBA graduate who was forced by a prospective employer to place a dollar value on a grant of stock options. There are two objectives: 1) Serves as an introduction to option valuation, in which students have an... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Stock Options; Compensation and Benefits