Social Impact Bonds - Publications - Faculty & Research

2008
Chapter

Corporate Honesty and Business Education: A Behavioral Model

By: Rakesh Khurana and Herbert Gintis

Since the mid-1970s neoclassical economic theory has dominated business school thinking and teaching in dealing with the nature of human motivation. However valuable in understanding competitive product and financial markets, neoclassical economic theory employs an... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Ethics; Managerial Roles; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Business and Shareholder Relations; Mathematical Methods; Behavior

Citation

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ethan S. Bernstein

I have spent my career studying novel talent management practices and their effect on collaboration and performance. My core research focuses on two interrelated organizational trends that have become salient in the 21st century: workplace transparency (who gets to... View Details

November, 2016
Article

Fixing Discrimination in Online Marketplaces

By: Ray Fisman and Michael Luca

Online marketplaces such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb have the potential to reduce racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of Internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Race; Gender

Citation

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01 Jun 2009
News

Entrepreneur’s Rwandan Start-Up Gets HBS Support

SCHARPF: Seeking cost-effective raw materials in Rwanda. Elizabeth Scharpf (MBA ’07) is on a roll. Determined to put her MBA skills to work addressing socioeconomic and public health problems in developing nations, she has launched a View Details

Keywords: Social Assistance; Social Assistance; Social Assistance; Social Assistance

01 Sep 2024
News

Next Level

the most sense for him to take the career break. “When you look at the workforce dynamics and who was leaving the workforce after COVID, we agreed that the world—and our children—would benefit more from Sarah remaining versus another white male working in tech.” And... View Details

Keywords: Maggie Mertens; photos by Cameron Karsten; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

24 Apr 2014
News

Private capital, public good

Tracy Palandjian (AB 1993, MBA 1997) is spearheading the development of social impact bonds (SIBs), a financial innovation designed to tackle some of the world’s most... View Details

01 Feb 2001
News

The Third Force: Indispensable to Society, Nonprofits Should Redirect Oversight Efforts

unpopular social issues, enabling spirituality, redistributing wealth to the needy, supporting cultural activities, and effectively and efficiently providing long-term solutions for social needs. Government... View Details

Keywords: Health, Social Assistance

21 Oct 2013
News

Moving the Needle

Seegull coauthored a policy paper, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and others, focused on engaging the federal government in impact investing to achieve social and environmental outcomes. "That opened... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance

01 Dec 2015
News

Giving Advice

(courtesy of Susan Wolf Ditkoff) The philanthropy economy is booming. Last year, America’s charitable giving totaled $358.38 billion, equaling 2.1 percent of GDP—a number last attained in prerecession 2004. With that growth have come a number of new options, including... View Details

01 Dec 2001
News

Reaching Out

plans to enter the private sector after graduation, but intends to continue his involvement in social enterprise. "Participating in the fellowship program," he says, "has convinced me that I can have an View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Julia Hanna; Health, Social Assistance

16 Jan 2014
News

Learning from Helping Others

class and a Robert Coles-taught seminar called Moral and Social Inquiry. "We read literature and discussed what the characters had done and what decisions they had made. It allowed us to then think about our own lives and what kinds of... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Health, Social Assistance

22 Apr 2020
Research Event

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

Until a few years ago, climate change’s potential impact seemed abstract for many investors. Now, as sea levels rise, hurricanes intensify, and droughts threaten food supplies, many investors are confronting its financial realities. But it’s not a simple calculation.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Financial Services

01 Aug 2019
News

Investing for Good

arrangement to deliver social value and financial value. “The social impact bond allows government to transfer the risk of performance of... View Details

Keywords: Finance

23 Aug 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Has the Corporate Mission Just Been Disrupted?

prioritize social benefits over shareholder reward. CEOs adding their signature to the pledge included Apple's Tim Cook, JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, IBM's Ginni Rometty, and GM's Mary Barra. Moving corporate View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Green Technology

01 Mar 2007
News

The Plight of the Global Poor

ability to generate profit. There is no contradiction between social impact and good profitability; in fact, profitability is central to that social impact.” Eliminating, or... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; bottom of the pyramid (BOP); Social Assistance; Social Assistance; Social Assistance; Social Assistance

10 Oct 2018
News

Building Paths to Success

influence.” That small act led to an epiphany for Traill, who set out on a mission to create venture philanthropy that could back social entrepreneurs with strategy and guidance to support young people. A year later, he founded View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

22 Apr 2021
News

Leading for a Better World in Boston; Virtual Event Showcases Japan Fellowship

racial inequities, the murder of George Floyd, and the growing movement for justice and change with panelists from organizations on the front line. They included Omar Blayton, CFO of Sunwealth, a solar impact fund that invests in solar... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

20 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Consumers Value Global Brands

brands, in industries as diverse as information technology and oil. Social Responsibility. People recognize that global companies wield extraordinary influence, both positive and negative, on society's well-being. They expect firms to... View Details

Keywords: by Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch & Earl L. Taylor

21 Jan 2013
Research & Ideas

Altruistic Capital: Harnessing Your Employees’ Intrinsic Goodwill

Measuring Social Impact Historically, economists and firms alike have banked on the theory that workers are motivated by earning financial incentives and boosting revenues. And in designing development... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

25 Aug 2022
News

On Purpose

Illustration by Nhung Lê Illustration by Nhung Lê When Jenny Cohen (MBA 1997), a longtime Disney exec, made the leap to executive VP of corporate social responsibility in early 2021, her first task was an especially existential one: “I... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

Publications