Publications

30 Mar 2015
News

What The Starbucks' Race Campaign Says About Corporate Activism

Article

How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay

By: Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton

Do people from different countries and different backgrounds have similar preferences for how much more the rich should earn than the poor? Using survey data from 40 countries (N = 55,238), we compare respondents' estimates of the wages of people in different... View Details

Keywords: Inequality; Justice; Wage; Cross-cultural; Wages; Equality and Inequality; Fairness; Income; Employees; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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07 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Big Infrastructure May Not Always Produce Big Benefits

Governments and policymakers often assume that infrastructure development is key to jumpstarting economic growth for citizens, an “If we build it they will come” chain reaction of new jobs, more efficient... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Construction

November 1997 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Herbert Hoover (A)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents a character sketch of Herbert Hoover, along with Hoover's views on the cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Illustrates the political economy of the period and presents different interpretations of the course of the Great Depression. A rewritten version... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Identity; Perspective

March 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Fiji versus FIJI: Negotiating Over Water

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

This case examines negotiations between a company and government over natural resources. The Fijian government proposed a substantial increase in its water extraction tax that would only apply to large extractors, and thus to FIJI Water and not to its competitors. FIJI... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Business and Government Relations; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Distribution Industry; Fiji

The terms “capitalism” and “socialism” continue to haunt our political and economic imaginations, but we rarely consider their interconnected early history. Even the eighteenth century had its “socialists,” but unlike those of the nineteenth, they paradoxically... View Details

Research Summary

Making Markets Work: An Executive Education Program for Africa

By: Debora L. Spar

In the last decades of the 20th century economic growth was distributed unevenly across the world. While some countries experienced sustained and unprecedented prosperity, others fell further and further behind. This widening gap was particularly evident in Africa,... View Details

Michael E. Porter

Michael Porter is an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker and teacher. Throughout his career at Harvard Business School, he has brought economic theory and strategy concepts to bear on many of the most challenging problems facing corporations, economies... View Details

Keywords: state government; state government; state government; state government; state government; state government; state government; state government; state government

13 Oct 2013
News

Debt ceiling maneuvering threatens economy, analysts say

We the Possibility

Can we solve big public problems anymore? Yes, we can. The huge challenges we face are daunting indeed. At the same time, we've come to accept the sad notion that government can't do new things or solve tough problems—it's too big, too slow, and mired in... View Details

July 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Teaching Note

Argentina Power—Don’t Cry for Me Argentina

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

Teaching Note for HBS No. 218-041. This case concerns a complex potential energy infrastructure investment in Argentina by a global conglomerate shortly after Mauricio Macri (“Macri”) became President of Argentina in 2015. The central issues are (i) why was a country... View Details

Keywords: Argentina; Argentine Exceptionalism; Infrastructure Finance; Investing; Finance; Inflation and Deflation; Government and Politics; Energy Generation; Infrastructure; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Argentina; South America

05 Dec 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Growth Good?

standard of living for the clear majority of citizens. . . . Economic progress needs to be broadly based if it is to foster social and political progress." Further, Friedman maintains that moral... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1999 (Revised October 2009)
Background Note

Deferred Compensation

By: Henry B. Reiling and Mark Pollard

Briefly discusses two of the major tax doctrines--constructive receipt and economic benefits--which govern the structure of deferred compensation contracts. Some business context is provided and some implications are noted. View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Taxation; Compensation and Benefits; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry

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Robin is the George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking at Harvard Business School. He serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research. He is past faculty director of the Behavioral Finance and Financial Stability project, chair of... View Details

Keywords: banking; financial services

January 2022
Article

Why is Corporate Virtue in the Eye of The Beholder? The Case of ESG Ratings

By: Dane Christensen, George Serafeim and Anywhere Sikochi

Despite the rising use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, there is substantial disagreement across rating agencies regarding what rating to give to individual firms. As what drives this disagreement is unclear, we examine whether a firm’s ESG... View Details

Keywords: ESG Ratings; Rating Agency Disagreement; ESG Disclosure; Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Disclosure

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March 1993 (Revised July 1994)
Case

Gerber Products Company: Investing in the New Poland

By: Debora L. Spar

Examines Gerber Products Co.'s evaluation of Alima S.A., one of Poland's largest food processing plants, as a potential overseas investment in 1991. Factors that influenced Gerber's decision are discussed in detail: property rights, taxation issues, and Poland's... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Food and Beverage Industry; Poland

April 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Shipping Industry; Western United States