Publications

07 Dec 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Oral History and Writing the Business History of Emerging Markets

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

01 Sep 2023
News

History Matters

today from the Panic of 1907? It demonstrates at least six regularities of financial crises. First, crises tend to afflict vulnerable financial systems. Vulnerability often follows an economic boom, a period of real growth that morphs... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

April 2015 (Revised October 2019)
Case

The Great Divergence: Europe and Modern Economic Growth

By: Sophus A. Reinert

The continent of Europe seemed in the spring of 2015 to be in a weaker position relative to other world regions than it had in centuries. Though comparatively small, it had long played a disproportionate role in world history, to the extent that the modern world system... View Details

Keywords: The Great Divergence; Modern Economic Growth; Empire; Disruption; Economic Growth; Values and Beliefs; History; Globalization; Europe

Educators

1994
Book

The Making of Global Enterprises

By: G. Jones

This volume presents new insights on the history of international business. Two main themes are addressed: how and when has global business developed over the last century? and what has been its impact on host economies? The volume includes a pioneering study by Mira... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business Subsidiaries; Economy; Trade; Globalized Firms and Management; Information Technology

2018
Introduction

Introduction: History and Political Economy

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

This volume offers a snapshot of the resurgent historiography of political economy in the wake of the ongoing global financial crisis, and suggests fruitful new agendas for research on the political-economic nexus as it has developed in the Western world since the end... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Government and Politics; History

December 2008 (Revised June 2010)
Background Note

Political and Economic History of the People's Republic of China: An Annotated Timeline

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, Elisabeth Koll and F. Warren McFarlan

Brief political, economic, and social timeline of China from 1949 to present to give context on and provide overview of modern Chinese history. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Government and Politics; History; Society; China

Educators

Forthcoming
Article

Economic Integration and the Transmission of Democracy

By: Marco Tabellini and Giacomo Magistretti

In this paper, we study the effects of economic integration with democratic partners on democracy. We assemble a large country-level panel dataset from 1960 to 2015, and exploit improvements in air, relative to sea, transportation to derive a time-varying instrument... View Details

Keywords: Democratization; Institutional Development; Economic Integration; International Trade; Democracy; Political Preferences; Institutions; Trade; Global Range; Economics; Government and Politics

Article

Business Investment in Education in Emerging Markets Since the 1960s

By: Valeria Giacomin, Geoffrey Jones and Erica Salvaj

This article examines non-profit investments by business in education in emerging markets between the 1960s and the present day. Using a sample of 110 interviews with business leaders from an oral history database, the study shows that more than three-quarters of such... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Oral History; Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business History; Emerging Markets; Reputation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Education Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Middle East; India; Chile; Colombia; Sri Lanka; Kenya

April 2006 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Ghana: National Economic Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter and Kjell Ke-Li Carlsson

Set in the year 2001, as President John Kufuor contemplates a national economic strategy following his election in the first democratic transfer of power in Ghana's history. Focuses on Ghana's long history of poor economic performance and intractable poverty,... View Details

Keywords: History; Economic Growth; Government Administration; Developing Countries and Economies; Growth and Development Strategy; Ghana

Educators

01 Jun 2002
News

History Matters

History shows us that when economic times are tough, customer relations are more important than ever, according to HBS professor Nancy Koehn. In “Chasing Dreams during Troubled Times: Lessons from the Past”... View Details

28 Aug 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: History Matters

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered How can business history influence current practice? What can the work of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones & Anthony Mayo

Fall 2019
Article

Du « défi américain » à l’expansion européenne: Les relations économiques transatlantiques des années cinquante aux années soixante-dix

By: Grace A. Ballor

Economic histories of post-war transatlantic relations have focused on two predominant narratives: US aid for European reconstruction through the Marshall Plan, and the threat of American business investment in Europe. But little research has linked these two elements.... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Corporations; Economic History; International Relations; Business History; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management

Read Now

Web

History - Entrepreneurship

About Rock History The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship opened in its headquarters building on the HBS campus in 2003 with the generous donation of $25 million by famed venture capitalist Arthur Rock , MBA 1951 Arthur Rock has... View Details

1985
Book

The Coming of Managerial Capitalism: A Casebook on the History of American Economic Institutions

By: A. D. Chandler Jr. and R. S. Tedlow

Keywords: Economic Systems; Managerial Roles

April–June 2014
Article

Firmes mondialisées et imaginaire de la beauté

By: G. Jones

This article highlights the role of business enterprises as influences on ideals of human beauty. The homogenization of such ideals has been one of the most noteworthy features of globalization over the last two centuries. This study suggests that firms were both... View Details

Keywords: American History; Economic History; Business History; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; History; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Europe; North and Central America

03 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Business History around the World

While many history departments of American universities prefer to keep business as a separate discipline, HBS entrepreneurship professor Geoffrey Jones encourages the examination of history as a way to... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Enterprising Women—a History

Museum of our National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts and to explore the question of how this exhibit changes our understanding of women's roles in American economic history. Virginia G. Drachman, a professor of View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

2018
Book

American Capitalism: New Histories

By: Sven Beckert and Christine Desan

The United States has long epitomized capitalism. From its enterprising shopkeepers, wildcat banks, violent slave plantations, huge industrial working class, and raucous commodities trade to its world-spanning multinationals, its massive factories, and the centripetal... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Finance; Trade; Economy; Policy; United States