Publications

SSRN

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15 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Americans Voted for an Income Tax

took another 50 years before the 16th Amendment, which allows Congress to levy a national income tax, was adopted in 1913. Why We Tax Ourselves One of the clearest statements of why Americans in the early twentieth century were willing to... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew C. Weinzierl

01 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

A Latin American Vision: New HBS Research Center Opens

Fernando de la Rua, the President of Argentina noted, "This is an historic day," about the opening of the School's new Latin America Research Center in Buenos Aires. Speaking as guest of honor at the Center's inaugural dinner on... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

08 Mar 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Can the Proposed American Health Care Act Improve on 'Obamacare'?

Yesterday, President Donald Trump endorsed the American Health Care Act (AHCA), a plan proposed by Republican United States lawmakers to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more commonly known as... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Dr. Gordon Moore, and Emily Boudreau

08 Jul 2015
What Do You Think?

Do Americans Work Too Much and Think About Work Too Little?

Summing Up Is Our Thinking About Work Outmoded? In spite of contrary evidence, there is still a popular belief that working more hours produces more results. People too often assume that being "at work" is equivalent to "work." View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

03 Sep 2020
Op-Ed

Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC

services of unknown quality. The lack of transparency protects providers and insurers from needing to compete on the price and quality of their services. Lack of competition, in turn, inflates the cost and probably also diminishes the quality of health care. Some steps... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger; Health

21 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Will American Brands Be a Casualty of War?

theme. Silverthorne: In general, what effect will the war and the perceived unilateral tactics of the president have on the reception of American brands overseas? Quelch: During the 1990s, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

From Beijing Jeep to ASC Fine Wines: The Story of an American Family Business in China

By: William C. Kirby and Erica M. Zendell

In 1985, Don St. Pierre Sr. became President of Beijing Jeep, the troubled joint venture between American Motor Corporation and the Chinese government to build Jeep Cherokees in China. Just over a decade later in 1996, leveraging contacts from his time in the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship In Emerging Markets; China; Joint Ventures; Wine Industry; International Entrepreneurship; International Business; Exports; Chinese Manufacturing; Business And Government Relations; Ownership Stake; Strategy; Operations; Auto Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China

02 Mar 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Trump’s Tariffs Could Harm Allies as Much as Opponents

After many on and off signals, President Donald Trump pulled the trigger March 1 and announced he would slap long-term duties on steel (25 percent) and aluminum (10 percent) imports next week. The last imposition of tariffs on steel by... View Details

Keywords: by Dante Roscini; Steel; Manufacturing

06 Sep 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Should US Companies Still Care About the Paris Climate Change Agreement?

Keywords: Re: Vincent Pons; Manufacturing; Mining

February 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

A Nation Divided: The United States and the Challenge of Secession

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

Americans elected Abraham Lincoln as the nation's first Republican president in November of 1860. Northern political leaders had formed the Republican Party only a few years before, in large measure to combat the spread of slavery. Southerners had long been wary of... View Details

Keywords: Governance; War; Government and Politics; History; United States

February 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Labor, Capital, and Government: The Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

In late October 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt felt relieved after months of anxiety and uncertainty. Workers in Pennsylvania's anthracite coal industry had been on strike for five months, threatening to leave eastern cities in the cold without enough heating fuel... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Labor; Law; Policy; Mining; History; Mining Industry; Pennsylvania

June 2007 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany

By: Geoffrey Jones, Grace Ballor and Adrian Brown

Considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937. Opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a German company... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Values and Beliefs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Business and Government Relations; Germany; United States

2018
Other Unpublished Work

Trump's Populism: What Business Leaders Need To Understand

By: Rafael Di Tella

In the 2016 United States presidential election, candidates from both major political parties used anti-establishment messaging to appeal to Americans, a theme that had been on the sidelines of US political discourse for decades. Donald Trump, in particular, played... View Details

Keywords: Populism; Globalization; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Demographics; United States

Read Now

February 2016 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Battle Over a Bank: Defining the Limits of Federal Power Under a New Constitution

By: David Moss and Marc Campasano

In late February, 1791, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton submitted a report to President Washington defending his recent proposal for a national bank, which he hoped would bolster the American economy and assist the federal government in managing its finances.... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Central Banking; Laws and Statutes; Government and Politics; History; Public Administration Industry; United States

February 2004 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Orientation for viewing "Path to War"

Prepares students to view "Path to War"--a movie that depicts the decision-making processes employed by President Lyndon Johnson and his advisers during the Vietnam War. Provides a brief history of the conflict in Vietnam prior to Johnson's decision to commit American... View Details

Keywords: History; War; Decision Making; United States