Publications

January 2009 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Spain: Can the House Resist the Storm?

By: Diego A. Comin

On September 16, 2008, President Rodriguez Zapatero recognized the severity of Spain's macroeconomic situation and clearly pointed to the culprit in front of the Spanish Congress: "Let nobody doubt it; there is already a wide consensus about the origin of the crisis:... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Economy; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; System Shocks; Spain

May 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Sovereign Wealth Funds: For Profits or Politics?

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

On March 21, 2008, the U.S. government secured an agreement from two leading sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to adopt a new set of investment principles to govern the Funds' activities. SWFs, broadly defined as an investment fund owned by a national or a government, were... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; International Relations; State Ownership; United States

April 2009
Case

The First Global Financial Crisis of the 21st Century

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

The global economy was expected to suffer from negative growth for the full year in 2009, a phenomenon not seen since World War II. While the U.S. subprime mortgage disaster was blamed as the original instigator, it was noted that the "global imbalances" of the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; International Relations; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution

27 Jan 2011
Working Paper Summaries

A Brief Postwar History of US Consumer Finance

Keywords: by Andrea Ryan, Gunnar Trumbull & Peter Tufano; Banking

03 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 3, 2009

but they must also think about how to manage the entire firm's portfolio. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=809072 Necessity and Invention: Monetary Policy Innovation and the Subprime... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 28

widespread fraud in mortgage lender NovaStar Financial. The case is set in the time period from 2001 to 2007 and tracks the growth of the subprime industry and its collapse leading to the financial crisis. The case describes the business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Dec 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Are There Too Many Safe Securities? Securitization and the Incentives for Information Production

Keywords: by Samuel G. Hanson & Adi Sunderam; Financial Services

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

macroeconomic situation and clearly pointed to the culprit in front of the Spanish Congress: "Let nobody doubt it; there is already a wide consensus about the origin of the crisis: [It is] in the U.S. and its subprime... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 May 2009
First Look

First Look: May 27, 2009

Working PapersThe Long-Run Risks Model and Aggregate Asset Prices: An Empirical Assessment Authors:Jason Beeler and John Y. Campbell Abstract The long-run risks model of asset prices explains stock price variation as a response to persistent fluctuations in the mean... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

After High-Profile Failures, Can Investors Still Trust Credit Ratings?

through which to look at what went wrong with the ratings system and how much it has changed. “What we wanted to find out was, are there times that they actually do a good job? Do we find they provide ratings that are accurate?” During the View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

sums up Enron's history and its enduring legacy. Q: Can an Enron-type calamity happen again? Why or why not? A: Perverse incentives are legion throughout our system today. For example, perverse incentives for both mortgage brokers and investment bankers helped create... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

20 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Blind Spots: We’re Not as Ethical as We Think

practices of their clients, who have the power to fire them if they do notice. Q: The book is full of examples of people making decisions that they thought were ethical but clearly violated their own standards for ethical behavior—for example, decisions that set the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

highest return on equity. He guided it through the 2008-09 financial crisis without a glitch by avoiding high-risk subprime mortgages and derivatives that felled so many other banks. Concerned about the crisis’ impact on bank reputations,... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

2010
Casebook

Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture

By: Laura Alfaro

All managers face a business environment in which international and macroeconomic phenomena matter. International capital flows can significantly affect countries' development efforts and provide clear investment opportunities for businesses. During the 1990s and early... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Capital; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations