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- Faculty Publications (119)
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- All HBS Web (447)
- Faculty Publications (119)
- March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
- Case
Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk
By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell
The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America
Chu, Michael, and Jean Hazell. "Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk." Harvard Business School Case 307-089, March 2007. (Revised April 2007.)
- winter 1971
- Article
Patient Incentives and Hospital Insurance
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Lester Lave
Kaplan, Robert S., and Lester Lave. "Patient Incentives and Hospital Insurance." Health Services Research 6 (winter 1971): 288–300. (see also "Further Thoughts on Patient Incentives," Health Services Research (summer 1972): 148-150.)
- September 2022
- Technical Note
Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the American Landscape
By: Susanna Gallani and Jacob Riegler
Social determinants of health (SDOH) have gained significant attention in recent years. A growing body of research shows that a person’s health is influenced by a large number of non-genetic factors, most of which operate outside the realm of health care and are... View Details
Keywords: Socioeconomic Determinants Of Health; Social Determinants Of Health; Population Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Social Issues; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; Insurance Industry; United States
Gallani, Susanna, and Jacob Riegler. "Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the American Landscape." Harvard Business School Technical Note 123-023, September 2022.
- November 2011 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor
By: Shawn Cole and Lilei Xu
China Life must decide whether to accept the government's "invitation" to develop a microinsurance product for the rural poor. Can it be done profitably? View Details
Cole, Shawn, and Lilei Xu. "China Life: Micro Insurance for the Poor." Harvard Business School Case 212-030, November 2011. (Revised March 2013.)
- May 21, 2020
- Editorial
Primary Care Is Hurting: Why Aren't Private Insurers Pitching In?
By: Leemore S. Dafny and J. Michael McWilliams
Primary care clinicians are the front line for patients with suspected infection. We rely on them to diagnose, triage, and manage patients with potential or confirmed COVID infections. They are also responsible for keeping non-COVID medical conditions under control... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19; Primary Care; Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Financial Condition; Insurance
Dafny, Leemore S., and J. Michael McWilliams. "Primary Care Is Hurting: Why Aren't Private Insurers Pitching In?" Health Affairs Blog (May 21, 2020).
- 2012
- Article
A Reduced-Form Approach to Behavioral Public Finance
By: Sendhil Mullainathan, Joshua Schwartzstein and William Congdon
Research in behavioral public finance has blossomed in recent years, producing diverse empirical and theoretical insights. This article develops a single framework with which to understand these advances. Rather than drawing out the consequences of specific... View Details
Mullainathan, Sendhil, Joshua Schwartzstein, and William Congdon. "A Reduced-Form Approach to Behavioral Public Finance." Annual Review of Economics 4 (2012): 511–540.
- July 2022 (Revised February 2025)
- Case
A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance
By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko
The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details
Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States
Nicholas, Tom, and John Masko. "A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance." Harvard Business School Case 823-032, July 2022. (Revised February 2025.)
- August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
- Case
No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan
By: Robert F. White and Tom Quinn
After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election—Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump—the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in... View Details
Keywords: Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawsuits and Litigation; Failure; System Shocks; Political Elections; Motivation and Incentives; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States
White, Robert F., and Tom Quinn. "No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan." Harvard Business School Case 825-044, August 2024. (Revised November 2024.)
- Article
Understanding the Advice of Commissions-Motivated Agents: Evidence from the Indian Life Insurance Market
By: Santosh Anagol, Shawn Cole and Shayak Sarkar
We conduct a series of field experiments to evaluate the quality of advice provided by life insurance agents in India. Agents overwhelmingly recommend unsuitable, strictly dominated products, which provide high commissions to the agent. Agents cater to the beliefs of... View Details
Keywords: Advice; Customers; Insurance; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Ethics; India
Anagol, Santosh, Shawn Cole, and Shayak Sarkar. "Understanding the Advice of Commissions-Motivated Agents: Evidence from the Indian Life Insurance Market." Review of Economics and Statistics 99, no. 1 (March 2017).
- June 2025
- Article
Social Security and Trends in Wealth Inequality
By: Sylvain Catherine, Max Miller and Natasha Sarin
Recent influential work finds large increases in inequality in the U.S. based on measures of wealth concentration that notably exclude the value of social insurance programs. This paper shows that top wealth shares have not changed much over the last three decades when... View Details
Catherine, Sylvain, Max Miller, and Natasha Sarin. "Social Security and Trends in Wealth Inequality." Journal of Finance 80, no. 3 (June 2025): 1497–1531.
- Article
Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch
We study unemployment benefit provision when the family also provides social insurance. In the benchmark case, more generous State transfers crowd out family risk-sharing one-for-one. An extension gives the State an advantage in enforcing transfers through taxes... View Details
Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. "Informal Family Insurance and the Design of the Welfare State." Economic Journal 112, no. 477 (February 2002): 481–503.
- Research Summary
Is Deposit Insurance a Good Idea, and if so, Who Should Pay for it?
Joint work with Alan Morrison, Saïd Business School, Oxford.
Deposit insurance schemes are becoming increasingly popular around the world and yet there is little understanding... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
Immigrant Entrepreneurs and the Social Safety Net
By: Gareth Olds
This paper explores the role of public health insurance in small business ownership among immigrants, a group with high rates of entrepreneurship. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 created a five-year “waiting period” for legal... View Details
Olds, Gareth. "Immigrant Entrepreneurs and the Social Safety Net." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-142, June 2016.
- 01 Mar 2012
- News
Social Investing Pioneers
appears to be the first financial instrument that enables social entrepreneurs to raise capital based on social outcomes,” says Cohen. “If we can prove that these approaches deliver View Details
- Web
Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School
founder of Core Innovation Capital, faced a decision on whether to invest in Hugo Insurance, an auto insurance startup. Core, an early-stage social impact VC firm, focused on “fintech for good,” by investing... View Details
- September 2020
- Article
Relaxing Household Liquidity Constraints Through Social Security
By: Sylvain Catherine, Max Miller and Natasha Sarin
More than a quarter of working-age households in the United States do not have sufficient savings to cover their expenditures after a month of unemployment. Recent proposals suggest giving workers early access to a small portion of their future Social Security benefits... View Details
Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Personal Finance; Employment; Welfare; Insurance; Government Legislation
Catherine, Sylvain, Max Miller, and Natasha Sarin. "Relaxing Household Liquidity Constraints Through Social Security." Art. 104243. Journal of Public Economics 189 (September 2020).
- July 2006
- Article
Media Reputation of the Insurance Industry: An Urgent Call for Strategic Communication Management
By: Robert G. Eccles Jr. and Matthias Vollbracht
Eccles, Robert G., Jr., and Matthias Vollbracht. "Media Reputation of the Insurance Industry: An Urgent Call for Strategic Communication Management." Special Issue on Reputational Risk Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance: Issues and Practice 31, no. 3 (July 2006).