Publications

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (A)

Relates the April 1979 discovery of improper income transferal practices used at the H.J. Heinz Co. Background data on the company is presented, along with a detailed description of the organizational practices, the management incentive system, and the corporate... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Processes; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

01 Mar 2012
News

Macroeconomic Policy and U.S. Competitiveness

March 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

U.S. Subprime Mortgage Crisis: Policy Reactions (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

By March 2008, the U.S. Government and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board had taken various policy measures over the last few months to tackle the subprime mortgage crisis that threatened to drag the economy into a recession. The Bush administration approved a fiscal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Central Banking; Mortgages; Policy; Business and Government Relations; United States

January 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Kinyuseisaku: Monetary Policy in Japan (A)

By: Laura Alfaro and Akiko Kanno

Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Money; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Policy; Japan

March 2009 (Revised May 2013)
Supplement

Kinyuseisaku: Monetary Policy in Japan (B)

By: Laura Alfaro and Akiko Kanno

Toshihiko Fukui, Governor of the Bank of Japan, faced a complex situation in the fall of 2007. An economic recovery had allowed the central bank to abandon its zero interest rate policy, which had been in place for years, and raise rates to 0.5%. The Bank of Japan was... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Money; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Policy; Japan

2024
Article

State Capacity and Varieties of Climate Policy

By: Jonas Meckling and Ari Benkler

Countries vary in the adoption of sticks and carrots in climate policy. Differences in institutional capacity and fiscal space shape national policies. This matters for the effectiveness of national mitigation efforts and the extent of international conflict over... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Policy; Country

Read Now

18 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Monetary Policy Drivers of Bond and Equity Risks

Keywords: by John Y. Campbell, Carolin E. Pflueger & Luis M. Viceira

11 May 2020
Op-Ed

Immigration Policies Threaten American Competitiveness

It is no secret that immigration has reshaped American innovation. Immigrants are the backbone of America’s most innovative industries, provide a quarter of our patent applications, and are numerous among our science and engineering superstars. Taken from World... View Details

Keywords: by William R. Kerr

April 2015
Tutorial

Introduction to International Macroeconomics

By: Laura Alfaro and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This tutorial is a web-based, interactive program which will provide students with an introduction to the basic principles of macroeconomics and international macroeconomics. View Details

Keywords: International Macroeconomics; International Economy; Current Account; Unemployment; Inflation; Monetary Policy; Fiscal Policy; Gdp; Macroeconomics; Money; Business Cycles; Inflation and Deflation; Trade

May 2015
Teaching Note

The United Kingdom and the Means to Prosperity

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Hilary White

After struggling through the country's longest recession since 2008, the U.K. was expected to grow faster than any other G7 nation in 2014. Analysts wondered whether the return to growth was because, or in spite of, Prime Minister David Cameron's controversial £113... View Details

April 2015
Teaching Note

International Macroeconomics — An Online Tutorial

By: Laura Alfaro and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This is the Teaching Note to accompany "International Macroeconomics", HBS Tutorial 715-702. View Details

Keywords: International Macroeconomics; International Economy; Current Account; Unemployment; Inflation; Monetary Policy; Fiscal Policy; Gdp; Macroeconomics; Money; Business Cycles; Inflation and Deflation; Trade

April 2015 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Japan's Missing Arrow?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

In late December 2014, Shinzo Abe was elected to another term as the prime minister of Japan. His re-election was largely interpreted as a vote of confidence for his economics policies, collectively referred to as "Abenomics." Comprised of three "arrows," including... View Details

November 2019 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Russia: A Drama In Three Acts

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Galit Goldstein, Sogomon Tarontsi and Lavinia Teodorescu

The collapse of central authority in the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in a period of revolutionary transformations for the states that emerged in its wake. The leaders of Russia, the USSR's successor, struggled to reestablish central authority while also seeking to... View Details

November 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Perspectives on the Great Depression

By: Julio J. Rotemberg

The case assembles texts giving perspectives on the Great Depression by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Anna Schwartz and Ben Bernanke. This should allow for a discussion of the role of fiscal and monetary policies in reaching and... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; Keynesian Multiplier; Monetary Policy; Zero Lower Bound Of Interest Rates; Role Of Expectations In Macroeconomics; Performance Expectations; History; Policy; Interest Rates; Macroeconomics

March 2010 (Revised May 2013)
Supplement

Chile's Copper Surplus: The Road Not Taken (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini and Renee Kim

In 2009, Chile's Finance Minister Andres Velasco's fortunes had been reversed. His fiscal policy that had come under attack just a year ago had been used to finance a $4 billion fiscal stimulus package amid the global economic downturn. Velasco was now Chile's most... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Crisis; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Policy; Government and Politics; Chile

14 Dec 2010
Op-Ed

Tax US Companies to Spur Spending

been a saving grace in ensuring that the financial crisis did not cause further damage to the economy. With traditional monetary and fiscal policy instruments seemingly exhausted, the mobilization of that... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai

April 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

California's Budget Crises, Tax Reform, and Domestic and International Tax Competition

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Jacob Kuipers

How do (and how should) governments design fiscal policies to compete in a globalized economy while meeting internal policy priorities including redistribution? In 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger repeatedly declared fiscal emergencies as California's state budget... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Economy; Globalization; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Taxation; Competition; California