Publications

September 1992 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Japan Confronts an Interdependent World

By: George C. Lodge

Traces the evolution of Japan's economic strategy from 1972 to 1992. Describes the collapse of the Japanese stock market in the spring of 1992, raising the question: Is this the end of Japan's miraculous growth? To help students consider that question, the case... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Financial Markets; Information Technology; System Shocks; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Growth and Development; Situation or Environment; Japan; United States

February 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Brazil: Leading the BRICs?

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich and Aldo Musacchio

Brazil's new president, Dilma Rousseff, had announced plans to sustain GDP growth above 5% annually and continue the country's leadership role among emerging economies. Between 2003 and 2010, Brazil benefited from strong economic growth and stable policies under the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Intellectual Property; Infrastructure; Economic Growth; Trade; International Relations; Economic Systems; Globalization; Corporate Strategy; Brazil; Russia; India; China; United States

01 Nov 2022
What Do You Think?

Why Aren’t Business Leaders More Vocal About Immigration Policy?

thousands of loyal, hard working, often inadequately recognized, government employees attempting to carry out the latest immigration policy are caught in the middle. Immigrants need the US. It still represents the world’s most attractive... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 2005 (Revised November 2005)
Case

To Trade or Not to Trade: NAFTA and the Prospects for Free Trade in the Americas

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Discusses the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the United States, Canada, and Mexico, a decade after it came into force in 1994. Keeping in mind NAFTA's effect on jobs, exports, productivity, and economic growth, policy makers had to decide... View Details

Keywords: History; Agreements and Arrangements; Performance Productivity; Jobs and Positions; Economic Growth; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; North and Central America

27 Jan 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Labor Regulations and European Private Equity

Keywords: by Ant Bozkaya & William R. Kerr

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

response to more temporary economic shifts, such as recession, often proves less successful, Sucher says. “These are some of those commonsense things that may not occur to people because they are thinking with their labor hats on and not... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

Research Summary

The Origins, Current State, and Future of Capitalism

By: Sophus A. Reinert

Starting with the dawn of market capitalism in Renaissance Italy, Professor Reinert works at the intersection of economic ideas, policies, and practices in history, particularly as seen through the lens of national strategies in international competition. He seeks to... View Details

June 2013 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Estonia: Transition, EU Membership, and the Euro

By: Michael E. Porter, Christian Ketels and Örjan Sölvell

The case discusses the economic development of Estonia, covering specifically the period from regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 until 2015. It tracks the process from the initial transition towards a market economy to becoming an EU member country,... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Policy; Government and Politics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Estonia

November 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Inequality and the "American Model"

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

Official data that suggest economic inequality has been mounting in the United States on various dimensions since 1979. Many causes of such inequality have been postulated: technological change, globalization, demographic factors, and changes in public policy (notably... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Wealth and Poverty; Corporate Governance; Social Issues; Government Administration; United States

2018
Chapter

How Geography Shapes—and Is Shaped by—the Internet

By: Shane Greenstein, Avi Goldfarb and Chris Forman

Book Abstract: The first 15 years of the 21st century have thrown into sharp relief the challenges of growth, equity, stability, and sustainability facing the world economy. In addition, they have exposed the inadequacies of mainstream economics in providing answers to... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Geographic Location; Internet

July 2020
Teaching Note

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeaacted... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Policy; Governance; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors

June 2023
Teaching Note

Agricultural Revolution without a Land Revolution: The Megafarms of CP Group

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 316-150. The case introduces students to an innovative new agricultural venture on the outskirts of Beijing. It can be used as a platform to discuss broader issues of agricultural policy reform and regional disparities in social and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Policy; Economic Growth; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Thailand

Research Summary

China and India in comparative perspective

China and India both have the potential of becoming economic superpowers. The conventional wisdom is that China is far ahead of India in economic reforms and economic performance. Together with my HBS colleague, Professor Tarun Khanna, we are re-examining this... View Details

1998
Book

Global Climate Change: A Senior Level Dialogue at the Intersection of Economics, Strategy, Technology, Science, Politics and International Negotiation

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Based on the 1997 conference organized by the Kellog Environmental Research Center and sponsored by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Global Climate Change presents the views of key players in the debate over global climate change... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Policy; Goals and Objectives; International Relations

Research Summary

Risk Management as a Function of Government

By: David A. Moss

Professor Moss's academic work in this area explores how and why governments manage private-sector risks. Based on historical and institutional research, he argues that risk management constitutes a critical function of government with far-reaching implications. ... View Details

2000
Other Article

Understanding the Drivers of National Innovative Capacity

By: Jeffrey L. Furman, Michael E. Porter and Scott Stern

Motivated by R&D productivity differences across countries, we evaluate the determinants of country-level international patenting. Our framework is built on the concept of national innovative capacity. Our results suggest that (a) patenting is well-characterized... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development

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April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Malaysia: People First?

By: Diego A. Comin and John Abraham

On March 30, 2010, Prime Minister Najib Razak presented his new economic model (NEM) for Malaysia. With the goal of raising per capita income to over $15,000 by 2020 from the current level of $6,634, the plan included measures to improve human capital, reduce migration... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; Problems and Challenges; Crime and Corruption; Developing Countries and Economies; Development Economics; Emerging Markets; Transformation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Wealth and Poverty; Equality and Inequality; Malaysia

2016
Report

Problems Unsolved and a Nation Divided: The State of U.S. Competitiveness 2016

By: Michael E. Porter, Jan Rivkin, Mihir Desai and Manjari Raman

In this report, the authors synthesize their views on U.S. competitiveness and unveil the findings of the 2016 HBS surveys on U.S. competitiveness. Specifically, the report documents the faltering performance of the U.S. economy and the erosion of America’s business... View Details

Keywords: U.S. Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Macroeconomics; Government and Politics; United States

Read Now

January 2020
Teaching Note

Chile: Unrest in the Copper Nation

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

For decades, Chile enjoyed the stability of being the world’s largest producer of copper. Keynes would have advised that this period of growth would have been the time for the government to save, that “the boom, not the slump, is the right time for austerity at the... View Details

Keywords: Copper Production; Protests; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Metals and Minerals; Production; Economy; Emerging Markets; Chile