Publications

Roe, Mark J., and Jordan I. Siegel. "Political Instability: Effects on Financial Development, Roots in the Severity of Economic Inequality." Journal of Comparative Economics 39, no. 3 (September 2011): 279–309. (We here bring forward strong evidence that political instability impedes financial development, with its variation a primary determinant of differences in financial development around the world. As such, it needs to be added to the short list of major determinants of financial development. First, structural conditions first postulated by Engerman and Sokoloff (2002) as generating long-term inequality are shown here empirically to be exogenous determinants of political instability. Second, that exogenously-determined political instability in turn holds back financial development, even when we control for factors prominent in the last decade's cross-country studies of financial development. The findings indicate that inequality-perpetuating conditions that result in political instability are fundamental roadblocks for international organizations like the World Bank that seek to promote financial development. The evidence here includes country fixed effect regressions and an instrumental model inspired by Engerman and Sokoloff's (2002) work, which to our knowledge has not yet been used in finance and which is consistent with current tests as valid instruments. Four conventional measures of national political instability — Alesina and Perotti's (1996) well-known index of instability, a subsequent index derived from Banks' (2005) work, and two indices of managerial perceptions of nation-by-nation political instability — persistently predict a wide range of national financial development outcomes for recent decades. Political instability's significance is time consistent in cross-sectional regressions back to the 1960's, the period when the key data becomes available, robust in both country fixed-effects and instrumental variable regressions, and consistent across multiple measures of instability and of financial development. Overall, the results indicate the existence of an important channel running from structural inequality to political instability, principally in nondemocratic settings, and then to financial backwardness. The robust significance of that channel extends existing work demonstrating the importance of political economy explanations for financial development and financial backwardness. It should help to better understand which policies will work for financial development, because political instability has causes, cures, and effects quite distinct from those of many of the key institutions most studied in the past decade as explaining financial backwardness.)

Research Summary

Overview

By: Andy Wu

How can technology entrepreneurs build competitive advantage from the ground up? Professor Andy Wu conducts scholarly research and develops course materials that document how technology entrepreneurs can (1) organize for innovation to create new market opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Technology Platform; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Video Game Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States; China; Southeast Asia; South Asia

Web

HBS OnBoard | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

regional board summits, and other networking events. Contact your local club to learn more. 1 Life & Leadership After HBS longitudinal alumni study. Most recent data collection 2021-2022. Interested in learning more about On Board? Sign... View Details

15 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat

other common myth that even if the world isn't quite flat today, it will be tomorrow. The data clearly indicate that national borders still matter. I group the differences that they demarcate into 4 areas: those related to cultural... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

– Less Info This article explores the impact of social media and smartphones on youth, highlighting parental concerns about increasing anxiety and depression. Data shows high engagement rates among children and adolescents: 90% of infants... View Details

03 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2010

companies they fund. Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network? If friends influence the purchases of a user in a social network, it could potentially be a significant source of revenue for sites such as Facebook and their corporate sponsors. Using a unique... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

26 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

What’s the Value of a Win in College Athletics?

million, which Chung points out rivals some professional teams. In fact, the National Basketball Association’s Portland Trail Blazers had $153 million in revenue in 2015 according to a Forbes ranking of NBA teams. One limitation in the available View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Sports; Education

2025
Working Paper

The Hidden Costs of Working Multiple Jobs: Implications for Spending Behavior and Wellbeing

By: Paige Tsai and Ryan W. Buell

Problem definition: Amidst inflation, rising costs of living, an explosion in remote and gig working opportunities, and an increase in the part-time labor mix in economies around the world, it is becoming evermore commonplace for people to earn labor income... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Employee Behavior; Job Design and Levels; Personal Finance; Well-being; Happiness; Satisfaction; Wages

SSRN

February 2021
Article

Assessment of Electronic Health Record Use Between U.S. and Non-U.S. Health Systems

By: A Jay Holmgren, Lance Downing, David W. Bates, Tait D. Shanafelt, Arnold Milstein, Christopher Sharp, David Cutler, Robert S. Huckman and Kevin A. Schulman

Importance: Understanding how the electronic health record (EHR) system changes clinician work, productivity, and well-being is critical. Little is known regarding global variation in patterns of use.
Objective: To provide insights into which EHR... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Health Records; Health Care and Treatment; Online Technology; Health Industry; Information Technology Industry

Article

Contagion of Cooperation in Static and Fluid Social Networks

By: Jillian J. Jordan, David G. Rand, Samuel Arbesman, James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis

Cooperation is essential for successful human societies. Thus, understanding how cooperative and selfish behaviors spread from person to person is a topic of theoretical and practical importance. Previous laboratory experiments provide clear evidence of social... View Details

Keywords: Social Contagion; Social Networks; Cooperation; Behavior; Social Media

January 2020
Article

Assessing the Safety of Electronic Health Records: A National Longitudinal Study of Medication-related Decision Support

By: A Jay Holmgren, Zoe Co, Lisa Newmark, Melissa Danforth, David Classen and David Bates

Background Electronic health records (EHR) can improve safety via computerised physician order entry with clinical decision support, designed in part to alert providers and prevent potential adverse drug events at entry and before they reach the patient.... View Details

Keywords: Hospital; Electronic Health Records; Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Safety; Performance; Quality; Performance Improvement

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September 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Global Health Strategy

By: Mark R. Kramer and Sarah Mehta

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) was a medical technology firm headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with 43,000 employees and 2016 revenues of $12.5 billion. For several years, the company had pursued developing products that created shared value, defined as... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Creating Shared Value; Odon Device; Medical Technology; Value Creation; Values and Beliefs; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Africa; Asia; Middle East

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Summer 2008
Editorial

Will the Stork Return to Europe and Japan? Understanding Fertility within Developed Nations

By: James Feyrer, Bruce Sacerdote and Ariel Dora Stern

Only a few rich nations are currently at replacement levels of fertility and many are considerably below. We believe that changes in the status of women are driving fertility change. At low levels of female status, women specialize in household production and... View Details

Keywords: Income; Household; Gender; Japan; Italy; United States; Sweden; Spain

2007
Working Paper

A Taste For Obscurity: An Individual-Level Examination of 'Long Tail' Consumption

By: Anita Elberse

Because online retailers are often able to provide products in a more cost-efficient manner than bricks-and-mortar stores, online channels are characterized by a vast assortment of products. Proponents of the "long tail" principle recently argued that the demand for... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Product; Renting or Rental; Online Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Retail Industry