Publications

October 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Supplement

Shock Therapy in Eastern Europe: Supplement

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Rebecca Evans

Supplements Shock Therapy in Eastern Europe: The Polish and Czechoslovakia Economic Reforms. Designed as an in-class handout. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Macroeconomics; Slovakia; Czech Republic; Poland

February 1997 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Mexico (B): Escaping from the Debt Crisis?

By: Huw Pill

Describes the response of the Mexican authorities and the international community to the "Third World Debt Crisis" that came to the forefront of global economic concerns in the early 1980s. Focuses on the respective roles of the private sector, governments (Mexican and... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Mexico

Article

Online and Official Price Indexes: Measuring Argentina's Inflation

By: Alberto Cavallo

Prices collected from online retailers can be used to construct daily price indexes that complement official statistics. This paper studies their ability to match official inflation estimates in five Latin American countries, with a focus on Argentina, where official... View Details

Keywords: Inflation; Online Price Index; Economics; Macroeconomics; Inflation and Deflation; Price; Latin America; Argentina

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2016
Report

Problems Unsolved and a Nation Divided: The State of U.S. Competitiveness 2016

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan Rivkin, Mihir Desai and Manjari Raman

In this report, the authors synthesize their views on U.S. competitiveness and unveil the findings of the 2016 HBS surveys on U.S. competitiveness. Specifically, the report documents the faltering performance of the U.S. economy and the erosion of America’s business... View Details

Keywords: U.S. Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Macroeconomics; Government and Politics; United States

March 2010
Article

Sudden Stops: Determinants and Output Effects in the First Era of Globalization, 1880–1913

By: Michael D. Bordo, Alberto Cavallo and Christopher Meissner

We study the determinants and output effects of sudden stops in capital inflows during an era of intensified globalization from 1880 to 1913. Higher levels of exposure to foreign currency debt and large current account deficits associated with reliance on foreign... View Details

Keywords: Sudden Stops; Capital Flows; Economics; Macroeconomics; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Globalization; History

Forthcoming
Article

Sticky Capital Controls

By: Miguel Acosta-Henao, Laura Alfaro and Andrés Fernández

There is much ongoing debate on the merits of capital controls as effective policy instruments. The differing perspectives are due in part to a lack of empirical studies that look at the intensive margin of controls, which in turn has prevented a quantitative... View Details

Keywords: Capital Controls; Macroprudential Policies; Stickiness; Intensive; (S, S) Costs; Capital; Management; Macroeconomics; Governance Controls; Mathematical Methods

April 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Chile: The Latin American Tiger?

Examines Chile's development strategy since 1973. Following a series of domestic economic reforms, the country must decide whether to join a regional trading block. Considers the advantages and disadvantages of regional trade agreements and examines the differences... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Chile

20 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 20, 2007

this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=407060 Navigating Turbulent Waters: Glitnir Bank's Communication Challenge during a Macroeconomic Crisis Harvard Business School Case 107-050 Glitnir Bank is an... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Strategy Execution - Course Catalog

had sound strategies but were unable to execute them effectively. With changing customer preferences, increasing global competition, disruptive technologies, heightened employee expectations, and unpredictable macroeconomic shocks,... View Details

December 1982 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Kennedy and the Balance of Payments

By: David B. Yoffie

In 1960, the United States was facing a balance of payments problem. Gold reserves were being drained, American products were losing competitiveness, and the dollar was under attack. This case analyzes the roots of this problem, provides an opportunity to discuss in... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Accounting; Macroeconomics; Money; Currency; Trade; United States

October 2014
Article

Sovereigns, Upstream Capital Flows and Global Imbalances

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych

We construct measures of net private and public capital flows for a large cross-section of developing countries considering both creditor and debtor side of the international debt transactions. Using these measures, we demonstrate that sovereign-to-sovereign... View Details

Keywords: Current Account; Aid/government Debt; Reserves; Puzzles; Productivity; Sovereign Finance; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics

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July 2001 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Japan: Beyond the Bubble

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Rebecca Evans

By the summer of 2001, Japan's economy had been generally stagnant for nearly 10 years--since the collapse of the bubble economy in 1990-91. The development strategy that drove the nation during earlier decades was fulfilled, and by 1989 Japan's GDP per capita exceeded... View Details

Keywords: History; Strategy; Development Economics; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Macroeconomics; Japan

Research Summary

Overview

My research lies in the intersection of economic growth and political economy focusing on the role of historical legacies, biogeography and culture in shaping contemporary economic performance. As growth economists our understanding of comparative economic development... View Details

Keywords: Institutions; Ethnicity; Economic Growth; Development Economics; Macroeconomics; Culture; Religion; Africa; Asia

2024
Working Paper

Fiscal Policy under Convex Supply Curves

By: Shlok Goyal, Avi Lipton and Borui Niklas Zhu

Recent empirical evidence suggests that supply curves are convex. Supply curve convexity is at odds with conventional Phillips curves, which rely on an infinitely elastic underlying supply curve. This paper explores the effect of supply curve convexity on the... View Details

Keywords: Fiscal Stimulus; Fiscal Policy; Inflation; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Policy; Mathematical Methods; United States

SSRN

2023
Other Unpublished Work

Urgent: The IMF Must Reform

By: Laura Alfaro, Guillermo Calvo, José de Gregorio, Augusto de la Torre, Roque Fernandez, Pablo Guidotti, Enrique Mendoza, Ernesto Talvi, Liliana Rojas-Suarez and Andrés Velasco

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; International Finance; Latin America

Profile

Mariama Keita

politics For the first three or four years after achieving her MBA, Mariama plans to gain more experience in finance. But her long-term ambition is to "get more involved in education in Africa. When people learn more about View Details

December 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Background Note

Fiscal Policy and the Case of Expansionary Fiscal Contraction in Ireland in the 1980s

By: Huw Pill

Provides a brief introduction to fiscal policy, including the fiscal multiplier. Uses Ireland's experience in the 1980s to explore the possibility that fiscal contractions--tax rises and expenditure costs--can stimulate economic growth (contrary to conventional... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Policy; Macroeconomics; Economic Growth; Republic of Ireland