Publications

Find at Harvard

spring 2004
Article

Multinationals and Linkages: An Empirical Investigation

By: Laura Alfaro and Andres Rodriguez-Clare

Several recent papers have used plant-level data and panel econometric techniques to carefully explore the existence FDI externalities. One conclusion that emerges from this literature is that it is difficult to find evidence of positive externalities from... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Brazil; Chile; Venezuela; Mexico

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20 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Misgovernance at the World Bank

Getting a seat at the table often makes all the difference in the world. New research from Harvard Business School suggests that this idea holds true literally at the World Bank, where the 24 countries serving on the Board of Executive... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Research Summary

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

By: Sandra J. Sucher

In this research I develop cases and articles that provide thought-provoking, real-world examples of the ways in which social identity differences emerge and are managed in the workplace, and the skills needed to constructively engage with differences to create and... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Equity; Social Issues

October 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Transforming Korea Inc: Financial Crisis and Institutional Reform

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

South Korea, as one of the Asian "tiger" economies, transformed itself into the world's 11th largest economy and major exporter by 1996, emerging from being one of the lowest income countries in the region back in the 1960s. Yet one year later in 1997, Korea was swept... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Financial Crisis; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; South Korea

September 2025
Article

Sticky Capital Controls

By: Miguel Acosta-Henao, Laura Alfaro and Andrés Fernández

There is much ongoing debate on the merits of capital controls as effective policy instruments. The differing perspectives are due in part to a lack of empirical studies that look at the intensive margin of controls, which in turn has prevented a quantitative... View Details

Keywords: Capital Controls; Macroprudential Policies; Stickiness; Intensive; (S, S) Costs; Capital; Management; Macroeconomics; Governance Controls; Mathematical Methods

March 2005 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Capital Controls in Chile in the 1990s (A)

By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

In 1991, Chile adopted a framework of capital controls focused on reducing the massive flows of foreign investment coming into the country as international interest rates remained low. Capital inflows threatened the Central Bank's ability to manage the exchange rate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Capital; Governance Controls; Business and Government Relations; Chile

20 May 2016
Op-Ed

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short. It has not provided prompt and clear leadership to the world in combating either the Ebola or Zika viruses. Its leadership has been low... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Health

02 Jun 2011
What Do You Think?

Is it Time for a National Bankruptcy?

sought could include aid from one country to another, the sale of national assets, and the deferral of commitments to allow time for a work out. A sizeable minority, however, took the view that lenders, because they helped contribute to a... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2017
Working Paper

Creating the Market for Organic Wine: Sulfites, Certification, and Green Values

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This working paper examines the history of organic wine, which provides a case study of failed category creation. The modern organic wine industry emerged during the 1970s in the United States and Western Europe, but it struggled to gain traction compared to other... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Failure; Problems and Challenges; Complexity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

SSRN

22 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Not Your Father’s State-Run Capitalism

enterprises” Never mind whether this was ever truly so black and white—Western countries certainly had their share of state-owned businesses back in the 1970s—but what is clear is that times have changed. Liberalization of markets in many... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Dec 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Regulating for Legitimacy: Consumer Credit Access in France and America

Keywords: by Gunnar Trumbull

08 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

Solving an Economic Mystery Surrounding Argentina and Chile

twentieth century, neither country would see such glory again. “Before 1914, [Argentina] was one of the most dynamic nations in the first global economy, attracting a record amount of foreign investment and massive inflows of immigrants,”... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

software, consumer electronics, and pharmaceuticals. Such companies hold many important patents and boast R&D labs that rival facilities at the best universities in the world. They are headquartered in countries with myriad... View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi & Martin Escobari

24 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

In Troubled Africa, Botswana Flowers

Spar wants to find out why Botswana is emerging as a "land of potential" on a continent largely left behind in the economic boom of the 1990s.Churchwell: How much is Botswana growing, and how does it compare to other... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

October 2019
Case

Agility Africa

By: Juan Alcacer, Caroline M. Elkins and Esel Çekin

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Emerging Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Real Estate Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa

24 Apr 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Bank Accounting Standards in Mexico: A Layman’s Guide to Changes 10 Years after the 1995 Bank Crisis

Keywords: by Gustavo A. Del Angel, Stephen Haber & Aldo Musacchio; Banking

January 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

eToro: Building the World's Largest Social Trading Network

By: Elie Ofek and Danielle Golan

Social trading platform eToro was preparing for the launch of its expanded offering in the U.S. The company faced critical decisions regarding product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, positioning and monetization. Moreover, it faced the challenge of how best to make... View Details

Keywords: Social Trading Platform; Investment; Social and Collaborative Networks; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Digital Platforms