Publications

14 Aug 2020
News

Remote Work Has Cushioned The Pandemic's Blow, But WBUR Poll Reveals Inequalities

Article

We Have a Rare Opportunity to Create a Stronger, More Equitable Society

By: Shai Davidai, Martin Day, Daniela Goya-Tocchetto, Oliver Hauser, Jon M. Jachimowicz, M. Usman Mirza, Nailya Ordabayeva, L. Taylor Phillips, Barnabas Szaszi and Stephanie Tepper

Income inequality in the United States was at historic levels before the coronavirus hit. Now, as the disease—and the social and economic implications it brings—spread across the country, it is likely to create even deeper fissures between the poor and rich. View Details

Keywords: Socioeconomic Status; Coronavirus; Inequality; Work; Income; Equality and Inequality; Health Pandemics; Gender; Money; Policy; Race; Society

12 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Solving COVID'S Mental Health Crisis

publicly funded treatment and support; poor data infrastructure; and inequalities related to social determinants of health,” Anderson says. “It has made mental health a concern for everyone and also has... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence; Health

12 Jan 2016
News

Study On Highest-Markup Hospitals Leads The Pack Of Health Affairs 2015 Top-Ten List

2020
Working Paper

Hospital Allocation and Racial Disparities in Health Care

By: Amitabh Chandra, Pragya Kakani and Adam Sacarny

We develop a simple framework to measure the role of hospital allocation in racial disparities in health care and use it to study Black and white Medicare patients who are treated for heart attacks—a condition where virtually everyone receives care, hospital care is... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Equality and Inequality; Race; Analysis

31 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

Innovation Can Amazon Remake Health Care? A Rare Find in Health Care: A Simple Solution to Racial Inequity Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Health; Health

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

Summing Up This month's exchange of ideas regarding U.S. healthcare reform ranged far and wide. Some of us were interested primarily in the issue of cost escalation and how to contain it. Others addressed issues of quality. For still others, it was a matter of View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

September 2020
Case

West Side United: Hospitals Tackle the Racial Health and Wealth Gap

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Paul Stramaglia

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. David Ansell, Darlene Hightower, and Ayesho Jaco, leaders of West Side United (WSU), a coalition of Chicago hospitals, community residents, banks, and small businesses conceived in 2016, reviewed progress toward WSU’s goal of ending... View Details

Keywords: COVID; COVID-19; Hospital; Coalition; Health Pandemics; Race; Health; Wealth and Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Change; Leadership; Chicago

March 2023 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Close Concerns: Diabetes Research and Advocacy

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

Diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18, Kelly Close understood the importance of balancing consistency and iteration. This principle had also informed her professional work, which started with a rapid promotion from financial analyst at Goldman Sachs to an analyst... View Details

Keywords: Diabetes; Health; Health Care; Health Care And Treatment; Health Care Outcomes; Health Care Industry; Knowledge Dissemination; Outcome or Result; Equality and Inequality; Business Model; Entrepreneurship

2020
Working Paper

Spreading the Health: Americans' Estimated and Ideal Distributions of Death and Health(care)

By: Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton

The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act intensified debates over the role of government in the distribution of healthcare. A nationally-representative sample of Americans reported their estimated and ideal distributions of healthcare (unmet need for... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Mortality; Inequality; Justice; Equity; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Equality and Inequality; Fairness; Public Opinion; United States

SSRN

September 2020
Teaching Note

West Side United: Hospitals Tackle the Racial Health and Wealth Gap

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 321-026. View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID; Hospital; Coalition; Health Pandemics; Race; Health; Wealth and Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Change; Leadership; Chicago

29 Jul 2021
Blog Post

Exploring the Intersection of Business & Health Care: Summer Fellow Derek Soled (MD/MBA 2022)

obstacles have on health inequities has solidified my desire to work at the intersection of medicine and public health as a both a practicing physician and policymaker.... View Details

26 Jan 2021
News

Clubs See Wealth in FemTech; Health Care Alumni Look at COVID Response

health care, inequities in female-specific disease areas, and the role of FemTech startups in disrupting women's health care and empowering women. Linda Greub (MBA 1987) Stasia... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

October 2022
Case

Afrigen Biologics: Vaccines for the Global South

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia Comeau

The majority of vaccines used on the continent of Africa (99%) are produced offshore. This makes African nations reliant on the West for major health care needs, a problem which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Afrigen Biologics (in partnership with the WHO)... View Details

Keywords: Vaccination; Vaccine; mRNA; COVID; COVID-19; Inequity; Hub-and-spoke; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Production; Social Issues; Business and Government Relations; South Africa; Africa

February 2024
Article

An Economic Framework for Vaccine Prioritization

By: Mohammad Akbarpour, Eric Budish, Piotr Dworczak and Scott Duke Kominers

We propose an economic framework for determining the optimal allocation of a scarce supply of vaccines that become gradually available during a public health crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Agents differ in observable and unobservable characteristics, and the... View Details

Keywords: Vaccine; Fairness; Public Finance; Public Goods; Allocation Problems; Allocative Efficiency; Allocation Rules; Social Welfare; Pandemics; Inequality; COVID-19; COVID-19 Pandemic; Public Sector; Resource Allocation; Market Design; Marketplace Matching; Public Administration Industry

SSRN