Publications

2016
Working Paper

Delaying Firearm Purchases Reduces Gun Violence

By: Michael Luca, Deepak Malhotra and Christopher Poliquin

Handgun waiting periods are laws that impose a two to seven-day delay between the purchase and delivery of a firearm. While states might institute waiting periods for different reasons (e.g., to allow for background checks), these delays also create a “cooling off”... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Safety; Rights; Laws and Statutes; United States

2008
Working Paper

Rethinking the Role of History in Law & Economics: The Case of the Federal Radio Commission in 1927

By: David A. Moss and Jonathan B. Lackow

In the study of law and economics, there is a danger that historical inferences from theory may infect historical tests of theory. It is imperative, therefore, that historical tests always involve a vigorous search not only for confirming evidence, but for... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Decision Choices and Conditions; Government Legislation; Law; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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06 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

What the World Could Learn from America's Immigration Backlash—100 Years Ago

the concerns of native-born voters? The answer is no. The likely backlash would soon lead to a policy reversal, resulting in even stricter immigration restrictions—with negative consequences for the economy. However, here are policy approaches that View Details

Keywords: by Marco Tabellini

September 2019
Article

Bill McKibben’s Influence on U.S. Climate Change Discourse: Shifting Field-Level Debates Through Radical Flank Effects

By: Todd Schifeling and Andrew J. Hoffman

This article examines the influence of radical flank actors in shifting field-level debates by increasing the legitimacy of preexisting but peripheral issues. Using network text analysis, we apply this conceptual model to the climate change debate in the United States... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Climate Change; Public Opinion; Power and Influence; Policy; United States

March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

The CHIPS Program Office

By: Mitchell B. Weiss and Sebastian Negron-Reichard

In February 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo weighed signing off on a Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) with at least one unconventional provision: a pre-application (“pre-app”) to the actual application for parts of $39 billion in direct semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Motivation and Incentives; Semiconductor Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Supplement

Yahoo! in China (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniel Baer

Describes the actions that Jerry Yang took to manage the aftermath of the Shi Tao incident following the 2007 Congressional hearing. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Government Legislation; Crisis Management; Business and Government Relations; Internet; Information Technology Industry; China; United States

October 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Background Note

Extraterritorial Applications of Antitrust Law: U.S. and Japanese Approaches

By: Guhan Subramanian and Michelle Kalka

This case describes the differebt approaches the United States and Japan have taken to extend the jurisdiction of their antitrust laws to foreign companies. The section on the United States, in particular, focuses on the evolving logic of the Supreme Court in dealing... View Details

Keywords: Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Government Legislation; Policy; Business or Company Management; Government and Politics; Pulp and Paper Industry; United States; Japan

25 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Politics is Failing America, and What Business Can Do To Help

project has surveyed HBS alumni and other business leaders to assess perceptions about which aspects of the country, such as the economy or education, they see as thriving and which as lacking. The survey results consistently showed that Washington’s persistent failure... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

20 Jul 2020
Op-Ed

It's Time for a Bipartisan Health Plan for Employers and Employees

valid, pay-as-you-go basis would avoiding worsening Medicare’s mammoth unfunded liabilities and could even help address them. The Public Option should also avoid government accounting; independent accountants should verify that the Public... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard J. Boxer; Health; Insurance

2003
Chapter

La tragédie de la thalidomide: affaires judiciaries et résponses législatives, 1959-1971

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Keywords: History; Courts and Trials; Government Legislation; Health Disorders; Pharmaceutical Industry

June 2006
Article

Enlarging the Societal Pie Through Wise Legislation: A Psychological Perspective

By: Jonathon Baron, Max Bazerman and Katherine Shonk

Keywords: Society; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Health; Perspective

Article

Foreclosure with Incomplete Information

By: Lucy White

Keywords: Behavior; Decision Making; Research; Government Legislation; Society

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2022
Article

Leadership & Overconfidence

By: Don A Moore and Max H. Bazerman

Expressions of confidence can give leaders credibility. In the political realm, they can earn votes and public approval for decisions made in office. Such support is justified when the confidence displayed is truly a sign that a leader (whether a candidate or an... View Details

Keywords: Personal Characteristics; Leadership; Government Legislation; Political Elections

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August 2012
Supplement

Albert 'Jack' Stanley in Nigeria (C)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Annelena Lobb

The international joint venture that successfully bid for $6 billion in contracts to build LNG trains on Nigeria's Bonny Island became entangled in a widening bribery and corruption probe triggered by an unrelated accusation against an employee of one of the JV... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Crime and Corruption; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance Compliance; Law; Joint Ventures; Business Subsidiaries; Government Legislation; Rail Industry; Nigeria; United States; United Kingdom

January 1997
Case

World Bank (A1): Rural Development (Revisited)

By: George C. Lodge

Begins with a brief description of the World Bank and its commitment to rural development. Discusses the bank's Northeast rural development program in Brazil, outlining its failure, success, and structural design. The questions raised by the project are left for the... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Development Economics; Rural Scope; Policy; Problems and Challenges; Government Legislation

February 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Atlantic Energy/Delmarva Power & Light (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mathew M Millett and Tracy Aronson

Delmarva Power & Light and Atlantic Energy are neighboring electric utilities based in Delaware and New Jersey, respectively. In early 1996, they entered into merger negotiations, but were unable to reach an agreement on price because they could not agree on what... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Negotiation Offer; Government Legislation; Risk and Uncertainty; Mergers and Acquisitions; Contracts; Utilities Industry; Delaware; New Jersey

20 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

US Competitiveness at Risk

got a US government that lacks the latitude to move that it had in the 1980s: large government debts and obligations facing the US now threaten to crowd out the investments in infrastructure, innovation, and... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter & Jan W. Rivkin

January 1999 (Revised December 2020)
Case

The U.S. Banking Panic of 1933 and Federal Deposit Insurance

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and Sabina M. Ciminero

After highlighting some key developments in the banking history of the United States, the case illustrates the Banking Panic of 1933 and the way in which Franklin D. Roosevelt dealt with it at the beginning of his presidency. Describes the main components of banking... View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Insurance; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; History; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; United States