Publications

May 2001
Case

Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate (Abridged)

By: David A. Moss

Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in 19th century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Legislation; Market Entry and Exit; Conflict of Interests; Competitive Advantage; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Great Britain

20 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Here’s How Businessman Trump Is Likely to Approach the Presidency

confidence. Their continued enthusiasm to lobby their senators and representatives will be important to his ability to legislate his campaign promises. Governing as president therefore requires a combination of “push” and “pull”... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese

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

14 Jul 2006
Op-Ed

The Case for Consumer-Driven Medicaid

legislators who decline to raise taxes and, instead, attempt to control these costs, face three choices: Cut Medicaid expenses through reductions in enrollment, benefits, and provider reimbursement; cut other state expenditures for the... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger

January 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Financing American Housing Construction in the Aftermath of War

By: David Moss and Cole Bolton

At the start of WWI, the United States faced a significant housing shortage. Public officials feared the spread of disease—and even communism—in the nation's cramped urban centers where vacancy rates held near zero and families often "doubled up" in single-housing... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Bonds; Mortgages; Government Legislation; Business History; Housing; Banking Industry; United States

June 2023
Case

The Business of Campaigns

By: Vincent Pons and Mel Martin

In 2022, the U.S. Congress examined the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, the latest in a long series of campaign finance reforms. According to its authors, the law would be the “most consequential overhaul of federal... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government Legislation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; United States

December 2007
Case

The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York

By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton

The New York State Legislature had come to a standstill in 1829 as lawmakers refused to charter any new banks or recharter any existing banks. Four of New York's forty banks had failed since 1825, and many legislatures believed that a significant change in the banking... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk Management; Government Legislation; Insurance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

05 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

Corporate Leaders Need to Step Up on Climate Change

Green initiatives are ubiquitous these days, implemented with zeal at companies like Dupont, IBM, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The programs being rolled out—lighting retrofits, zero-waste factories, and carpool incentives—save money and provide a green glow. Most large... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler

04 Dec 2000
What Do You Think?

Have We Overdone Deregulation and Privatization?

Congress enacted legislation that had become known as "the Federal Express bill." It was designed to test the idea of deregulation by allowing air freight carriers to fly planes of any size on any routes, without federal price... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 1

comparison concerns a central activity of citizenship, which is participation in the political and legislative processes. Publisher's link: http://www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/15241.html August 2013 Journal of Financial Economics The... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

17 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 17

Healthcare Reform: International Perspectives" updating key events and disputes concerning the reform law, including the 2010 Congressional elections, legislative proposals, legal challenges, and responses by employers. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jan 2020
Op-Ed

Medicare for All or Public Option: Can Either Heal Health Care?

insurers and increases taxpayers’ burden, while a public option would enliven private insurers, increase coverage, and control health care costs. However, it would require legislative discipline and independent oversight to assure that... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger and James Wallace; Health; Public Administration

02 Dec 2013
Research & Ideas

Companies Choreograph Earnings Calls to Hide Bad News

quarter earlier.) Despite disclosure legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley designed to ensure a transparent, level playing field, Cohen says that casting calls are a subtle but important way that companies influence the information they... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services

06 Dec 2004
What Do You Think?

Why Do Managers Fail to Act on Their Predictions?

stating company action taken to prepare for the expected events." The latter would certainly encourage, perhaps at a substantial cost, what Conway proposes, as we've seen with recent legislative and regulatory rulings on corporate... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Does Speed Trump Intellectual Property?

in the end by showing employees that it is okay to cheat." Sairam Inumella asserts, "New legislation is not a solution to this 'problem' ... . Maybe this copycat competition will help the networks move toward strategies that... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Surveying the VC Landscape

process? A: Sarbanes-Oxley is a complex piece of legislation, but it appears inevitable that the legislation will negatively affect the willingness of venture investors to remain on the boards of firms once they go public. (Of course,... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

March 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

UBS and Auction Rate Securities (A)

By: Daniel Baird Bergstresser, Shawn A. Cole and Siddharth Bhaskar Shenai

UBS, a global financial services company, must decide whether to continue to support the market for Auction Rate Securities in the face of a growing financial crisis. These instruments, underwritten by UBS, were marketed to clients as highly liquid and safe... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Financial Crisis; Asset Pricing; Financial Liquidity; Financial Instruments; Government Legislation; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Note on Generic Drugs in the European Union

By: Robert C. Pozen and Elizabeth M. Leonard

Rules governing the introduction of generic drugs in U.S. and EU have some similarities but significant differences because of the Hatch-Waxman Act in the U.S. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Health Care and Treatment; Trademarks; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; European Union; United States

Find at Harvard

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