Publications

07 Jul 2016
Blog Post

Can You Learn Finance through the Case Method?

of micro and macroeconomics was one of the things I was most looking forward to about business school. I had heard that HBS did a great job of supporting people like me in getting up to speed quickly in these subjects through... View Details

01 Sep 2020
News

The Devil You Don’t Know

capacity. In illustrating this point in a book on macroeconomics that I wrote a number of years ago, I quoted three people: President Herbert Hoover, who was the US president when the Great Depression started; President Franklin... View Details

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52379 March 2017 Politics & Society Land Institutions and Chinese Political Economy: Institutional Complementarities and Macroeconomic Management By: Rithmire, Meg Abstract—This article... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Doing Business in Santiago, Chile

By: Willis Emmons, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Ruth Costas

The case uses the example of the opening of the first IKEA furniture store in Chile – which is operated by Chilean group Falabella – to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the country. It gives readers an overview of Chile’s economic... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; Chile; Latin America

February 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Doing Business in São Paulo, Brazil

By: Hise O. Gibson, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Ruth Costas and Pedro Levindo

The case uses the example of a large investment made by French retail group Carrefour in Brazil to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the country. It gives readers an overview of Brazil’s economic transformation since its colonial years until... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; Brazil; Latin America

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Norway: An Embarrassment of Riches

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Forest Reinhardt and Jens-Henrik Munthe-Kaas

Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Funds; Welfare State; Internationalization; Dutch Disease; Macroeconomics; Energy Sources; Values and Beliefs; Sovereign Finance; Immigration; Welfare; Natural Resources; Happiness; Energy Industry; Norway

2009
Other Unpublished Work

Singapore Competitiveness Report

By: Christian H.M. Ketels, Ashish Lall and Boon Siong Neo

The 2009 Singapore Competitiveness Report, the first in this new series of regular assessments by the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, provides data and analysis to inform the discussions on the impact of the crisis... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Singapore

Read Now

2007
Working Paper

New Framework for Measuring and Managing Macrofinancial Risk and Financial Stability

By: Dale F. Gray, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

This paper proposes a new approach to improve the way central banks can analyze and manage the financial risks of a national economy. It is based on the modern theory and practice of contingent claims analysis (CCA), which is successfully used today at the level of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Central Banking; Risk Management

Read Now

09 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

A Playbook for Small-Business Job Creation

government can work together to create jobs.” "We've made a lot of progress on the macroeconomic front: deficit reduction, balancing the budget, what the Fed is doing, and tax policy reform," says Mills. "But that doesn't... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking; Financial Services

01 Feb 2012
What Do You Think?

Is Support for Small Business Misplaced?

center of economic development can be held up as a possible antidote to macroeconomic stagnation. That's why a recent article by Charles Kenny caught my eye. Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

19 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Handicapping the Best Countries for Business

economy. Bad government can only lead to less competitive businesses. Q: What are you working on now? A: I am doing case development and heading our biggest required course, BGIE or Business, Government, and the International Economy. My next research project, however,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 19, 2008

survey. We find that the end-of-month inventory significantly increased in four of the six retail segments studied and that, after controlling for sales and macroeconomic factors, the positive time trends for the end-of-month inventory... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Vietnam: Sustaining the Growth of an Asian Tiger

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

The case tracks Vietnam's economic policy choices and performance from the end of the Vietnam war to the Doi Moi economic reforms and the economic transformation that followed. Throughout this period, the country had become a darling of the international aid community.... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Leadership; Policy; Transformation; Economic Growth; Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Viet Nam

October 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Citizens of the World: The International Legacy of Gloria von Thurn und Taxis

By: Lauren Cohen, Maximilian Form and Sophia Pan

When her husband passed away and inheritance taxes struck, Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis took decisive action to preserve her family’s fortune and legacy. The Thurn und Taxis family, one of Europe’s oldest aristocratic dynasties, had built their wealth through... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Real Estate; Legacy; International Business; Germany; Family Business; Economy; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Global Strategy; Reputation; Diversification; Real Estate Industry; Germany

February 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Case

U.S. Healthcare Reform: International Perspectives

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich and Elia Cameron

The national economic implications of rising healthcare costs were poorly understood, even as the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom instituted reforms in early 2010. Presenting opportunities for cross-national policy learning, this case describes the... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Insurance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Care and Treatment; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; Health Industry; Public Administration Industry; Germany; United Kingdom; United States

March 2009 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Denmark: Globalization and the Welfare State

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich and Benjamin Kramarz

This case describes how Denmark has balanced the impacts of globalization, including outsourcing and movement of labor, with its social welfare offerings. Reforms implemented during the past two decades drove down unemployment, promoted new company formation, and put... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Globalized Economies and Regions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employment; Welfare or Wellbeing; Denmark

June 2013 (Revised June 2013)
Teaching Note

Brazil's Enigma: Sustaining Long-Term Growth & Currency Wars

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

Over the past decade, Brazil's future as a leading world economic power appeared certain. An expanding middle class and commodity boom had fueled economic growth, with GDP growth hitting a peak of 7.5% in 2010. However, the high cost of conducting business in Brazil,... View Details

December 2017 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Globalization Past, 1850–1914 (A)

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Federica Gabrieli

On the evening of 3 August 1914, British Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Grey contemplated whether to advise King and Parliament to declare war on Germany in the wake of the country’s invasion of Belgium or to stay out of what quickly was becoming a world war triggered... View Details

Keywords: The World; The Rise And Fall Of Globalization; World War; Globalization; War; Economics; Trade; Business Cycles; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Society; History; Values and Beliefs; Macroeconomics

April 1984
Background Note

Export Controls

By: David B. Yoffie

Explores the problems and opportunities associated with export controls--one of the most widely used tools of international trade policy in the 1970s and early 1980s; and the role of the United States and Soviet Union as major players in the international economy.... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Soviet Union; United States