Publications

April 2017 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Restructuring Ukraine

By: Kristin Mugford, Seema Amble and Tian Feng

In June 2015, Ukraine found itself struggling with a volatile and devalued currency, dramatically diminished foreign reserves, and a projected financing shortfall of $40 billion. Ukraine’s new government sought to return the nation to stability following political... View Details

Keywords: Exchange Rates; Politics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Restructuring; Economy; Currency Exchange Rate; Banks and Banking; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Bonds; Sovereign Finance; Capital Markets; Credit; Debt Securities; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Government and Politics; Ukraine

September 2004 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Hedging Currency Risks at AIFS

By: Mihir A. Desai, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

The American Institute for Foreign Studies (AIFS) organizes study abroad programs and cultural exchanges for American students. The firm's revenues are mainly in U.S. dollars, but most of its costs are in eurodollars and British pounds. The company's controllers review... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Education Industry; North and Central America

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

Santa Clara County into Silicon Valley. “Countries are beginning to realize—Israel being one of them—that they need to engage in public diplomacy, not just a foreign diplomacy, and in place branding, not just political advocacy, ” says... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

February 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Korea First Bank (A)

In December 1999, Newbridge Capital, an equity investment fund based in San Francisco, successfully negotiated with the Korean government to acquire a controlling interest in Korea First Bank. It was the first time a foreign financial institution acquired a Korean... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Foreign Direct Investment; Acquisition; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; San Francisco; South Korea

March 2011 (Revised December 2017)
Background Note

The IMF: The Washington Consensus, the Critics, and the New Challenges as China Rises

By: Rafael M. Di Tella, Natalie Kindred and Monica Baraldi

How the International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines and carries out its mandate has evolved considerably since 1944, when it was founded to serve a vital but narrow function in maintaining the global foreign exchange system and thus enabling international trade. This... View Details

Keywords: History; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Trade; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; Financial Services Industry

2011
Working Paper

Tax Policy and the Efficiency of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad

By: Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr.

Deferral of U.S. taxes on foreign source income is commonly characterized as a subsidy to foreign investment, as reflected in its inclusion among "tax expenditures" and occasional calls for its repeal. This paper analyzes the extent to which tax deferral and other... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Investment Return; Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Policy; Taxation; United States

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April 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Korea: On the Back of a Tiger (Abridged)

What caused the 1997 Korea crisis? Did the International Monetary Fund (IMF) help or hinder recovery? Did democracy help or hinder recovery? Seen as an economic miracle, Korea succumbed to the wave of currency crises sweeping Asia in late 1997. Did the same state-led... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Trade; Currency Exchange Rate; Foreign Direct Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Asia; South Korea

Article

Tax Policy and the Efficiency of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad

By: Mihir A. Desai, C. Fritz Foley and James R. Hines Jr.

Deferral of U.S. taxes on foreign source income is commonly characterized as a subsidy to foreign investment, as reflected in its inclusion among "tax expenditures" and occasional calls for its repeal. This paper analyzes the extent to which tax deferral and other... View Details

Keywords: International Taxation; Dynamic Efficiency; Deferral; Policy; Taxation; Performance Efficiency; Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Investment Return; Business Earnings; Equity; Financing and Loans; Cash Flow; Capital; United States

SSRN

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04 Oct 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Cold Call: Corporate Governance and Growth Strategy at Capital SAFI

Keywords: Re: V.G. Narayanan; Financial Services

06 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

How South Africa Challenges Our Thinking on FDI

More than one decade after the fall of apartheid, and despite ambitious economic reforms by the ANC government, foreign direct investment flows into South Africa averaged around two-thirds less than investments in comparable... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Jul 2008
Op-Ed

Why the U.S. Should Encourage FDI

recent experience suggests that direct foreign investors on average do not possess that advantage when entering the United States. For sovereign wealth funds eager to deploy capital, the experience of the... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai

2008
Book

Mexico Since 1980

By: Stephen Haber, Herb Klein, Noel Maurer and Kevin Middlebrook

This book addresses two questions that are crucial to understanding Mexico's current economic and political challenges. Why did the opening up of the economy to foreign trade and investment not result in sustained economic growth? Why has electoral democracy not... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics; Growth and Development; Law Enforcement; Welfare or Wellbeing; Mexico

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14 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 14, 2009

structures. SWFs seem to engage in a form of trend chasing, since they are more likely to invest at home when domestic equity prices are higher, and invest abroad when foreign prices are higher. Funds see... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Research Summary

Financial reporting quality and its consequences

Does reporting quality have real economic consequences? Professor Yu addresses this question in her research, which examines the channels through which reporting quality affects the behavior of economic agents, namely managers and investors. Her particular focus is... View Details

September 1992 (Revised March 1993)
Case

Empresas ICA and the Mexican Road Privatization Program

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Monica Brand

Mexico's largest construction company, Empresas ICA, makes an initial public offering to international equity investors in April 1992 to help fund its participation in an ambitious new private-sector approach to highway development. Under the new program, launched by... View Details

Keywords: Construction; Transportation Networks; Infrastructure; Privatization; Private Equity; Investment; Initial Public Offering; Private Sector; Government and Politics; Policy; Construction Industry; Mexico

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August 2022
Case

In-Q-Tel: Innovation On A Mission

By: Joshua Lev Krieger and Josh Lerner

In 2022, the leaders of In-Q-Tel (IQT) considered what was next for the unique mission-driven organization. Since 1999, IQT had one mission: to be the most sophisticated source of strategic technical knowledge and capabilities to the U.S. government and its allies. IQT... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; National Security; Technological Innovation; Research; Geopolitical Units; Risk Management; Recruitment; Growth and Development Strategy; Venture Capital; Knowledge Management; Information Industry; Banking Industry