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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(761)
- People (1)
- News (163)
- Research (483)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (10)
- Faculty Publications (340)
- September 2017
- Teaching Note
The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?
By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan
In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details
- June 2006 (Revised April 2024)
- Case
Creditor Activism in Sovereign Debt: 'Vulture' Tactics or Market Backbone
By: Laura Alfaro and Ingrid Vogel
The role of distressed debt funds, also known as "vulture funds," in sovereign debt restructuring was a hotly debated topic, especially after the success of Elliot Associates in converting an $11 million investment in Peruvian bonds worth $21 million into a $58 million... View Details
Keywords: Vulture Funds; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Government and Politics; Contracts; Business and Government Relations; Peru
Alfaro, Laura, and Ingrid Vogel. "Creditor Activism in Sovereign Debt: 'Vulture' Tactics or Market Backbone." Harvard Business School Case 706-057, June 2006. (Revised April 2024.)
- 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
Alfaro, Laura, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, and Vadym Volosovych. "Sovereigns, Upstream Capital Flows and Global Imbalances." Journal of the European Economic Association 12, no. 5 (October 2014): 1240–1284. (Also NBER Working Paper 17396. Online Appendix.
See International capital flows database for the data on measures of net private and public capital flows for a large cross-section of developing countries.)
- 2025
- Chapter
Leapfrog Leaders: Accelerating Systems Leadership Skills
By: Laura Cabrera, Derek Cabrera and Hise O. Gibson
We need leaders who can execute at the Strategic, Operational, and Tactical (SOT) levels. But, research shows it takes time for skills to develop at all three levels—too much time. Why does it take too much time? First, because expertise is borne of experience. An... View Details
Keywords: DSRP; VCML; Strategy; Operations; Leadership Development; Decision Making; Organizational Structure
Cabrera, Laura, Derek Cabrera, and Hise O. Gibson. "Leapfrog Leaders: Accelerating Systems Leadership Skills." In The Routledge Handbook of Systems Thinking, edited by Derek Cabrera, Laura Cabrera, and Gordon Midgley. London: Routledge, forthcoming.
- May 2018
- Article
Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production
By: Laura Alfaro and Maggie X. Chen
Assessing the productivity gains from multinational production has been a vital topic of economic research and policy debate. Positive aggregate productivity gains are often attributed to within-firm productivity improvement; however, an alternative, less emphasized... View Details
Keywords: Productivity Gains; Multinational Production; Selection; Market Reallocation; And Within-firm Productivity; Multinational Firms and Management; Production; Performance Productivity; Competition; Mathematical Methods
Alfaro, Laura, and Maggie X. Chen. "Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 10, no. 2 (May 2018): 1–38. (Also NBER Working Paper 18207. See Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12–111, 2015 for longer version.)
- 2014
- Article
An Analysis of the Competitive Advantage of the United States of America in Commercial Human Orbital Spaceflight Markets
By: Greg Autry, Laura Huang and Jeff Foust
The “Public/Private Human Access to Space” / Human Orbital Markets (HOM) study group of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has established a framework for the
identification and analysis of relevant factors and structures that support a global human... View Details
Keywords: Air Transportation; Infrastructure; Emerging Markets; Analysis; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry; United States
Autry, Greg, Laura Huang, and Jeff Foust. "An Analysis of the Competitive Advantage of the United States of America in Commercial Human Orbital Spaceflight Markets." New Space 2, no. 2 (2014): 83–110.
- February 2007
- Case
South African Airways (A)
By: Joshua D. Margolis, Laura Morgan Roberts and Laura Winig
Amid efforts to engineer a turnaround at South African Airways (SAA), the CEO confronts an impending strike at the struggling company. How should the company address questions of distributive and procedural justice in post-Apartheid South Africa, and how should the CEO... View Details
Keywords: Fairness; Crisis Management; Employees; Employment; Growth and Development; Developing Countries and Economies; Air Transportation Industry; South Africa
Margolis, Joshua D., Laura Morgan Roberts, and Laura Winig. "South African Airways (A)." Harvard Business School Case 407-014, February 2007.
- March 2024 (Revised February 2025)
- Case
Doing Business in São Paulo, Brazil
The case gives readers an overview of key factors of doing business in Brazil, including Brazil’s economic transformation since its colonial years until 2023, when leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his third term, after the most polarized... View Details
Keywords: Business Cycles; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; International Relations; Political Elections; Taxation; Consumer Behavior; Brazil; Latin America; Sao Paulo
Alfaro, Laura, Hise O. Gibson, Leonard A. Schlesinger, and Pedro Levindo. "Doing Business in São Paulo, Brazil." Harvard Business School Case 324-079, March 2024. (Revised February 2025.)
- 16 Feb 2016
- First Look
February 16, 2016
several years our conclusion is that these skills can be developed by anyone open and willing to practice and develop these critical skills. This chapter gives an overview of the course curriculum, complete with the conceptual framework,... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 2015
- Report
Decoding the Iran Nuclear Deal: Key Questions, Points of Divergence, Pros and Cons, Pending Legislation, and Essential Facts
By: Gary Samore, Graham T. Allison, Matthew Bunn, Nicholas Burns, Shai Feldman, Chuck Freilich, Olli Heinonen, Martin B. Malin, Steven E. Miller, Payam Mohseni, Laura Rockwood, James K. Sebenius and William Tobey
On April 2, 2015, the EU (on behalf of the P5+1 countries) and Iran announced agreement on "key parameters" for a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran. The EU-Iran Joint Statement is buttressed by unilateral fact sheets issued by the U.S. and Iran, which provide... View Details
Samore, Gary, Graham T. Allison, Matthew Bunn, Nicholas Burns, Shai Feldman, Chuck Freilich, Olli Heinonen, Martin B. Malin, Steven E. Miller, Payam Mohseni, Laura Rockwood, James K. Sebenius, and William Tobey., ed. "Decoding the Iran Nuclear Deal: Key Questions, Points of Divergence, Pros and Cons, Pending Legislation, and Essential Facts." Report, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, April 2015.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Voting Trusts and Antitrust: Rethinking the Role of Shareholder Rights and Private Litigation in Public Regulation, 1880s to 1930s
By: Naomi R. Lamoreaux and Laura Phillips Sawyer
Scholars have long recognized that the states’ authority to charter corporations bolstered their antitrust powers in ways that were not available to the federal government. But they have also argued that the growth of large-scale enterprises operating in national and... View Details
Keywords: Voting Trusts; Antitrust; Business and Shareholder Relations; Lawsuits and Litigation; History; United States
Lamoreaux, Naomi R., and Laura Phillips Sawyer. "Voting Trusts and Antitrust: Rethinking the Role of Shareholder Rights and Private Litigation in Public Regulation, 1880s to 1930s." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-109, May 2019.
- 2007
- Working Paper
Intra-Industry Foreign Direct Investment
By: Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton
We use a new firm level data set that establishes the location, ownership, and activity of 650,000 multinational subsidiaries—close to a comprehensive picture of global multinational activity. A number of patterns emerge from the data. Most foreign direct investment... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Activity; Horizontal FDI; Vertical FDI; Stages Of Production; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Foreign Direct Investment; Competency and Skills; Production
Alfaro, Laura, and Andrew Charlton. "Intra-Industry Foreign Direct Investment." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 13447, September 2007.
- 19 Apr 2011
- First Look
First Look: April 19
Communication: Cases for Analysis, Appreciation and Application, edited by Laura W. Black, 143-148. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 2010 Abstract Pressure intensifies on a strategy consulting team as... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- 15 Aug 2006
- First Look
First Look: August 15, 2006
Working PapersOptimal Reserve Management and Sovereign Debt Authors:Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk Abstract Most models currently used to determine optimal foreign reserve holdings take the level of international debt as given. However,... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- January 22, 2015
- Other Article
Are Capital Controls Effective? Firm-level Evidence from Brazil
By: Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari and Fabio Kanczuk
Capital controls are back in fashion. This column discusses new firm-level evidence from Brazil showing that capital controls segment international financial markets, reduce external financing, and lower firm-level investment. They disproportionately affect small,... View Details
Alfaro, Laura, Anusha Chari, and Fabio Kanczuk. "Are Capital Controls Effective? Firm-level Evidence from Brazil." Vox, CEPR Policy Portal (January 22, 2015).
- 2020
- Working Paper
Currency Hedging in Emerging Markets: Managing Cash Flow Exposure
By: Laura Alfaro, Mauricio Calani and Liliana Varela
Foreign currency derivative markets are among the largest in the world, yet their role in emerging markets in particular, is relatively understudied. We study firms' currency risk exposure and their hedging choices by employing a unique dataset covering the universe of... View Details
Keywords: Foreign Currency Hedging; FX Derivatives; Foreign Currency Debt; Currency Mismatch; Trade Credit; Currency; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets
Alfaro, Laura, Mauricio Calani, and Liliana Varela. "Currency Hedging in Emerging Markets: Managing Cash Flow Exposure." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-096, March 2021.
- 2012
- Chapter
Foreign Direct Investment and Growth
By: L. Alfaro and M. S. Johnson
This paper examines the evolution of the literature on the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and growth in host countries, particularly developing countries. It provides a broad overview, with a focus on two elements that have recently become... View Details
Keywords: Economic Growth; Spillovers; Complementarity; Mechanism; Globalization; Foreign Direct Investment
Alfaro, L., and M. S. Johnson. "Foreign Direct Investment and Growth." Chap. 20 in The Evidence and Impact of Financial Globalization, edited by Gerard Caprio, 299–309. Elsevier, 2012.
- 28 Apr 2022
- Blog Post
Harvard Team Wins Second Place in MIINT Impact Investing Competition
help students take on the role of an impact investor, walking them through topics such as how to measure impact or how to analyze a term sheet. MIINT at Harvard is organized by the HBS Impact Investing Club and HBS Senior Lecturer Brian... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Legislators' Demand for Firms' Financial Statements: Evidence from U.S. Congressional Redistricting Events
By: Matthew Ma, Jing Pan, Ethan Rouen and Laura Wellman
We investigate whether U.S. House representatives and their staff seek financial information from constituent firms to inform their legislative decisions. We exploit shifts in U.S. congressional districts (i.e., the reconfiguration of federal district lines or... View Details
Keywords: Redistricting; Lobbying; Legislators; Voting Behavior; Corporate Disclosure; Government Legislation; Voting; Behavior
Ma, Matthew, Jing Pan, Ethan Rouen, and Laura Wellman. "Legislators' Demand for Firms' Financial Statements: Evidence from U.S. Congressional Redistricting Events." Review of Accounting Studies (forthcoming). (Pre-published online July 7, 2025.)
- 2020
- Working Paper
EMEs and COVID-19: Shutting Down in a World of Informal and Tiny Firms
By: Laura Alfaro, Oscar Becerra and Marcela Eslava
Emerging economies are characterized by an extremely high prevalence of informality, small-firm employment and jobs not fit for working from home. These features factor into how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the economy. We develop a framework that, based on... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19; Emerging Economies; Informality; Firm-size Distribution; Health Pandemics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economy; System Shocks; Latin America
Alfaro, Laura, Oscar Becerra, and Marcela Eslava. "EMEs and COVID-19: Shutting Down in a World of Informal and Tiny Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-125, June 2020. (See application of the methodology to Latin American Countries in the IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere 2020, Chapter 3. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/WH/Issues/2020/10/13/regional-economic-outlook-western-hemisphere.)