Publications

SSRN

2012
Chapter

The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We document the loan provisions in 401(k) savings plans and how participants use 401(k) loans. Although only about 22% of savings plan participants who are allowed to borrow from their 401(k) have such a loan at any given point in time, almost half had used a 401(k)... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Retirement; Financing and Loans; Microeconomics

Research Summary

Male Circumcision and HIV/AIDS: The Macroeconomic Effects of a Health Crises (with Eric Werker and Brian Wendell)

Theories abound on the possible impact of AIDS on economic growth and savings in Africa; yet there have been surprisingly few empirical studies to test the mixed theoretical predictions. In this paper, we examine the impact of the AIDS epidemic on African nations... View Details

June 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Technical Note

Note on the Future of Commerce

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Nathaniel Schwalb

In 2019, the retail and consumer product industries were undergoing a significant transformation. Over the past 50 years, what was once a highly fragmented industry began to consolidate, digitize, and increase convenience while lowering costs. The winning enterprises... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Demand and Consumers; Demographics; Transformation; Global Range; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Leading Change; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Educators

Article

The Harmonization of Lending Standards within Banks through Mandated Loan-Level Transparency

By: Jung Koo Kang, Maria Loumioti and Regina Wittenberg-Moerman

We explore whether the introduction of transparent reporting rules increases credit standard harmonization within a bank. We exploit the new loan-level reporting rules imposed on banks that borrow from the European Central Bank using repurchase agreements... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; External And Internal Reporting; Credit Term Harmonization; Regulatory Scrutiny; Banks and Banking; Credit; Financial Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Learning

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Paula Rettl is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. Her primary areas of expertise are comparative politics, political economy and political behavior, with a focus on Latin America and... View Details

14 Nov 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Process and Performance

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim; Accounting

Fall 2013
Article

In Strange Company: The Puzzle of Private Investment in State-Controlled Firms

By: Mariana Pargendler, Aldo Musacchio and Sergio G. Lazzarini

A large legal and economic literature describes how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) suffer from a variety of agency and political problems. Less theory and evidence, however, have been generated about the reasons why state-owned enterprises listed in stock markets... View Details

Keywords: State-owned Enterprises; Oil Companies; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; Brazil; Mexico; Norway

SSRN

June 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Strategic Innovation at the United Nations: A Network of Ecosystems

By: Frank Nagle, Elizabeth J. Altman and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, Gina Lucarelli, leader of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs, prepared for a meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The two planned to discuss the future of the Accelerator Labs, a network of social innovation labs located... View Details

Keywords: Change; Disruption; Transformation; Change Management; Education; Learning; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Local Range; Geopolitical Units; Country; Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Psychology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Society; Social Issues; Welfare; Strategy; Cooperation; Adaptation; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

Educators

10 Jun 2021
News

SpaceX Mars City: Bezos and Branson Reveal the Flaw in Elon Musk's Vision of Space

04 Oct 2019
News

Changing of the Guard at Tesco

Photo via Tesco Photo via Tesco In July, the British retailer Tesco marked its 100th birthday with a 30-hour dance session in Wembley Stadium. Historic milestones aside, the company could also celebrate its recovery from an accounting scandal and extended View Details

Keywords: Tesco; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

04 Nov 2019
News

Getting Around: Shaping the Future of Transportation

December 2012
Supplement

Jefferson County (D): February of 2008

By: Daniel Bergstresser and Randolph B. Cohen

Jefferson County, Alabama, faces an EPA mandate requiring sewer system upgrades. How will they finance the upgrades? What consequences will follow? View Details

Keywords: Local Government; Political Process; Bankruptcy; Debt Management; Financial Planning; Urban Development; Environmental Sustainability; Infrastructure; Government and Politics; Borrowing and Debt; Alabama

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

governments to fund, design, and accomplish new cities all over the world that are economically competitive, that use water and energy effectively, and which are healthy for their citizens." With the support View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

September 2006
Article

In the Eye of the Storm

By: Dutch Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt

Keywords: Natural Disasters

15 Oct 2017
News

Bonuses are the enemy of progress

26 Aug 2020
News

'I'm afraid we're going to lose 20-30% of our small businesses': Fmr. SBA Administrator Karen Mills

07 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Supervisor of Sandwiches? More Companies Inflate Titles to Avoid Extra Pay

economic spectrum are creating faux management jobs, pointing to wage cases filed by workers at tech and financial services giants. The team found a five-fold increase in manager titles like “directors of... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

2015
Chapter

The Role of Multiplier Firms and Megaprojects in Leading Change for Sustainability

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Martine Haas, John D. Macomber and Tiona Zuzul

In both the private and public sectors, organizations around the world face increasingly pressing questions about how to stimulate and manage change for long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the roles... View Details

Keywords: Blueprint Logic; Learning Logic; Megaprojects; Multiplier Firms; Leading Change; Environmental Sustainability

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2013
Chapter

Growth and the Quality of Foreign Direct Investment: Is All FDI Equal?

By: Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton

In this paper we distinguish different "qualities" of FDI to re-examine the relationship between FDI and growth. We use "quality" to mean the effect of a unit of FDI on economic growth. However, this is difficult to establish because it is a function of many different... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Economic Growth; Foreign Direct Investment

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