Publications

May 2011
Article

Higher Risk, Lower Returns: What Hedge Fund Investors Really Earn

By: Ilia Dichev and Gwen Yu

The returns of hedge fund investors depend not only on the returns of the hedge funds they hold but also on the timing and magnitude of their capital flows in and out of the funds. We use dollar-weighted returns (a form of IRR) to assess the properties of actual... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Market Timing; Currency

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June 1991 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Second Bank of the United States: Banks and Banking Before the Second Bank of the United States

Describes the problems of early banking, early attempts at central banking, achieving a sound uniform currency, and economic growth. Illustrates the problems of developing a sound money economy in a developing country and shows the difficulties of branch management in... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Business History; Central Banking; Communication; Economic Growth; Banking Industry; United States

December 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Euro in Crisis: Decision Time at the European Central Bank

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull, Dante Roscini and Diane Choi

This case traces the origins and evolution of the European Central Bank, with attention to its 2010 decision concerning the purchase of Greek sovereign debt. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Central Banking; Financial Management; Sovereign Finance; Policy; Crisis Management; Europe; Greece

02 Jun 2011
What Do You Think?

Is it Time for a National Bankruptcy?

the situation that must be rectified." Kapil Kumar Sopory cited his concern that insolvency would further exacerbate inequality, expressing the fear that "This is going to lead to revolutions in the long run." Tom Dolembo added, "Dissolving a View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

02 May 2008
What Do You Think?

What is the Future of State Capitalism?

the success of currencies in markets in which they invest? Or, alternatively, will the situation take care of itself as a new equilibrium reoccurs when those managing huge pools of money and gigantic corporations succumb to inefficiencies... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Big Companies, Big Opportunities—Big Questions

regional and local customers. Still, P&G has seen its share of tough times in Latin America. For example, the company had surpassed $1 billion in sales in Mexico in 1993. But after the currency devaluation in 1994, it lost $400... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

2022
Chapter

CIP Deviations, the Dollar, and Frictions in International Capital Markets

By: Wenxin Du and Jesse Schreger

The covered interest rate parity (CIP) condition is a fundamental arbitrage relationship in international finance. In this chapter, we review its breakdown during the Global Financial Crisis and its continued failure in the subsequent decade. We review how to measure... View Details

Keywords: Interest Rates; International Finance; Financial Crisis; Currency

January 2001
Background Note

Country Analysis in a "Global Village"

By: Bruce R. Scott

Substantially rewritten to establish the relevance of countries in the global context. It does so in terms of their differing economic performance in recent decades, and also by contrasting those that have "converged" toward the rich country norm (as theory would... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; Macroeconomics; Trade; Business Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Industry Growth; Currency; Policy; Development Economics

10 Nov 2008
Research Event

Social Media Leads the Future of Technology

number of which offer Internet access. What these statistics suggest is that "the most precious currency today is information," said panelist Jim Breyer, an early investor in Facebook and a director of Wal-Mart Stores.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

10 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 10, 2008

Working PapersAccounting Information as Political Currency Authors:Karthik Ramanna and Sugata Roychowdhury Abstract We test whether accounting can be used as political currency. Our setting is the US congressional election of 2004,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Oct 2016
First Look

October 11, 2016

the payroll tax assessed on the self-employed, the median lifetime after-tax earnings gap between self-employment and paid work is approximately zero. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51676 Sovereign Risk, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Debt Redemption and Reserve Accumulation

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

July 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

China 'Unbalanced'

By: Diego A. Comin and Richard H.K. Vietor

In 2010, Wen Jiabao looked back at the financial crisis with some satisfaction. Using aggressive fiscal and monetary policy, China had weathered the crisis successfully, growing 8.7% annually in 2010. Most of the unemployed workers had returned to work, often... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Investment; Local Range; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; China

November 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Merrill Lynch's Acquisition of Mercury Asset Management

By: Andre F. Perold, Imran Ahmed and Randolph B Altschuler

In the Spring of 1998, Merrill Lynch faced an array of challenges and opportunities related to its global asset management business. The firm had recently completed its $5.3 billion cash acquisition of U.K.-based Mercury Asset Management, a transaction that made it one... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Asset Management; Currency; Financial Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Distribution; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retirement; Japan; Europe; United Kingdom

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23 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Brexit: Should Britain Stay or Go?

investment, and the biggest donor of development aid. It also has the second reference currency in the world. European integration is facing its gravest crisis since its creation. This moment should be leveraged as an opportunity to push... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Dante Roscini

August 2008
Supplement

Iceland (B): Redefining Aaa-Rated Sovereigns

By: Aldo Musacchio

In May of 2008, a team of sovereign debt analysts at Moody's had to decide whether to downgrade the country's sovereign long-term debt from Aaa to Aa1 or lower. Investor sentiment toward Iceland had changed radically in March, and the Moody's team was fearful that the... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Financial Condition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Iceland; European Union

August 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Iceland (A)

By: Aldo Musacchio

In May of 2008, a team of sovereign debt analysts at Moody's had to decide whether to downgrade the country's sovereign long-term debt from Aaa to Aa1 or lower. Investor sentiment toward Iceland had changed radically in March, and the Moody's team was fearful that the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Currency; Financial Condition; Sovereign Finance; European Union; Iceland

02 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: May 2, 2017

diminishing the return on lending in foreign currency. We show that, in response to domestic monetary policy easing, global banks increase their foreign reserves in currency areas with the highest interest rate while decreasing lending in... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 2013
Case

Europe: An Ever Closer Union?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Jonathan Schlefer and Diane Choi

In 2010, the European Union faces the challenges of the global financial crisis. With 27 member states, each facing different challenges, can new EU institutions respond effectively? Will its new currency, the euro, survive? View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Money; Trade; Currency; Policy; Government and Politics; European Union