Publications

2010
Book

Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism

By: Peter Wehner and Arthur C. Brooks

Popular opinion would have us believe that America's free market system is driven by greed and materialism, resulting in gross inequalities of wealth, destruction of the environment, and other social ills. Even proponents of capitalism often refer to the free market as... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Economic Systems; Ethics; Moral Sensibility

Article

Productivity and Selection of Human Capital with Machine Learning

By: Aaron Chalfin, Oren Danieli, Andrew Hillis, Zubin Jelveh, Michael Luca, Jens Ludwig and Sendhil Mullainathan

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Selection and Staffing; Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods; Policy

Forthcoming
Article

Human Capital and the Managerial Revolution in the United States: Evidence from General Electric

By: Tom Nicholas

This paper estimates the returns to human capital accumulation during the first era of mega-firms in the United States by linking employees at General Electric—a canonical enterprise associated with the “visible hand” of managerial hierarchies—to the 1940 census. I... View Details

Keywords: Returns To Education; Management Practices; Hierarchies; Management Practices and Processes; Rank and Position; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Business History; United States

2024
Working Paper

Health, Human Capital Development and the Longevity of Japanese Elites Since 710

By: Tom Nicholas and Hiroshi Shimizu

We examine the lifespan of over 40,000 elites in Japan born between 710 and 1912, including samurai warriors, feudal lords, business, political, cultural, and religious leaders at the apex of the social hierarchy. Japanese elites experienced increases in lifespan about... View Details

Keywords: Life Expectancy; Status and Position; Health; History; Human Capital; Japan

August 2020
Article

Machine Learning and Human Capital Complementarities: Experimental Evidence on Bias Mitigation

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Evan Starr and Rajshree Agarwal

The use of machine learning (ML) for productivity in the knowledge economy requires considerations of important biases that may arise from ML predictions. We define a new source of bias related to incompleteness in real time inputs, which may result from strategic... View Details

Keywords: Machine Learning; Bias; Human Capital; Management; Strategy

Research Summary

Manager Specific Human Capital Investment: A Model of Block Trading and Firm Stability

I develop a model in which workers can undertake specific human capital investments in the firm and in the manager employed by the firm. If the manager leaves the firm, a worker has to decide whether to join her in the new firm or stay in the old firm. In case of... View Details

02 Nov 2005
Conference Presentation

Wage Policies and Incentives to Invest in Firm-Specific Human Capital

By: George P. Baker, Nancy D. Beaulieu and Cristian Voicu

Keywords: Wages; Policy; Motivation and Incentives; Human Capital

27 Oct 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Does Venture Capital Attract Human Capital? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

Keywords: by Shai Bernstein, Kunal Mehta, and Richard Townsend

June 2016
Case

Advika Consulting Services: Challenges and Opportunities in Managing Human Capital

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Francesca Gino, Julia J. Lee and Bradley R. Staats

Keywords: Consulting Firms; Consulting Industry

Educators

2007
Other Unpublished Work

Wage Policies and Incentives to Invest in Firm-Specific Human Capital

By: George P. Baker and Cristian Voicu

Keywords: Human Capital; Wages; Investment; Motivation and Incentives

March 2014 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Loki Capital Management

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble

In December 2013, Michael Kane was preparing to launch his start-up's first hedge fund. While pleased with the development of the business, he wanted to address a few lingering issues before going any further. He debated whether or not to fire the company's chief... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Hedge Funds; Equity Split; Fundraising; Investor Clientele; Team Building; Human Resource Management; Human Capital; Human Resources; Equity; Financial Services Industry; United States

Educators

2016
Article

Creating an Execution Premium: Human Capital Practices of Successful Organizations

By: David P. Norton, Robert S. Kaplan and Cassandra Frangos

February 2018
Teaching Note

Advika Consulting Services: Challenges and Opportunities in Managing Human Capital

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Francesca Gino, Julia J. Lee, Bradley R. Staats, Andrew Wasynczuk and John Beshears

Teaching Note for HBS No. 916-033. View Details

Keywords: Consulting Firms

2020
Working Paper

Should Firms Move Talent from the Geographic Periphery to Hubs? A Strategic Human Capital Perspective

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Victoria Sevcenko and Tarun Khanna

A longstanding literature holds that firms should hire and move talent from the geographic periphery to hubs as a means to create value from human capital. They do so, however, at the risk of losing the worker to rivals located in the same geographic hub,... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Residency; Technology Industry; India

2021
Book

The Heart of Business—Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

By: Hubert Joly and Caroline Lambert

A remarkable turnaround by a leader with a remarkable philosophy: Find your noble purpose. Put people at the center. Unleash human magic.
"It was fall in Minnesota. It was getting cold and we were supposed to die." This is how Hubert Joly describes the early,... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Leading Change

February 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

Business and Human Rights

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

This note addresses some of the most frequently asked questions about the relation between human rights and business. Topics include the definition of human rights, the business leader's role regarding human rights, and legal liability of companies and executives for... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Human Capital; Legal Liability; Rights; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

Educators

June 2023
Article

Do Job Seekers Value Diversity Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment and Human Capital Disclosures

By: Jung Ho Choi, Joseph Pacelli, Kristina M. Rennekamp and Sorabh Tomar

We examine how information about the diversity of a potential employer's workforce affects individuals’ job-seeking behavior. We embed a field experiment in job recommendation emails from a leading career advice agency in the U.S. The experimental treatment involves... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Job Search; Employees; Corporate Disclosure

July 2000
Article

Competition and Human Capital Accumulation: A Theory of Interregional Specialization and Trade

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and G. Saloner

Keywords: Competition; Human Capital; Theory; Geography; Trade

August 2009 (Revised February 2011)
Background Note

Managing Organizational Human Capital: Research Resources

By: Boris Groysberg and Ann Cullen

This technical note provides a list of library resources for researching various aspects of managing human capital within organizations. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Human Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizations; Research