Publications

January 2017
Article

Impact Evaluation Methods in Public Economics: A Brief Introduction to Randomized Evaluations and Comparison with Other Methods

By: Dina Pomeranz

Recent years have seen a large expansion in the use of rigorous impact evaluation techniques. Increasingly, public administrations are collaborating with academic economists and other quantitative social scientists to apply such rigorous methods to the study of public... View Details

Keywords: Practice; Public Sector; Research; Policy; Performance Evaluation

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February 2022
Supplement

Agora (B)

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Tom Quinn

This is the conclusion to Agora (A), where founder Elsa Sze decides if she wants to continue investing energy in her civic technology startup.
Agora was a civic technology (civic tech) startup founded by Elsa Sze, who wanted to enhance the connection between... View Details

Keywords: Civic Technology; Government Administration; Conferences; Business Startups; Business Strategy

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

Newman), the high cost of new technology, artificial restrictions on the supply of drugs (Sergey Mirkiin) and healthcare providers (David Stahl and Michael Robbins), the size and complexity of the problem itself (James Sullivan), View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—China

region or with a partner in the region Nonprofit organizations Government agencies, especially those working closely with the private sector The program content is global in nature and applicable to the Chinese business environment. The... View Details

November 2012
Case

The World Bank in 2012: Choosing a Leader

By: Lakshmi Iyer and Ian McKown Cornell

In 2012, the World Bank faced important questions in terms of its future strategy and mission. Should the Bank continue to focus on micro-level development initiatives, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), or return to traditional macro-level financial... View Details

Keywords: Economic Development; Millennium Development Goals; World Bank; International Institutions; Leadership; Development Economics; Emerging Markets; Foreign Direct Investment; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry

January 2009 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Barack Obama and the Bush Tax Cuts (A)

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Eric D. Werker

As his inauguration approached, President-elect Obama faced a financial sector meltdown, a costly bailout, and massive government deficits. With the economy in recession, interest rates near zero, and joblessness on the rise, Obama needed to decide whether, and how... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Policy; Government Administration; Taxation; United States

December 2003
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (C) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Manville Corp.'s senior managers are surprised when Japanese government officials advise them not to go forward with their plan to add a cancer warning label to diatomaceous earth (DE) products sold in Japan. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has ruled... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Moral Sensibility; Safety; Government Administration; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Announcements; Industrial Products Industry; Japan

2018
Article

Revenue Farming Reconsidered: Tenurial Rights and Tenurial Duties in Early Modern India, ca. 1556–1818

By: Sudev J Sheth

The meaning of land revenue farming in Indian history has eluded consensus. Some view it as an administrative aberration indicating weak state control, while others see it as a strategy for consolidating authority. This essay traces the historical development of iqṭāʻ... View Details

Keywords: Iqṭāʻ; Ijārah; Revenue Farming; Financial Agents; Mughal Empire; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Property; Finance; South Asia

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01 Sep 2023
News

Solving for Z

With nearly 20 years of experience as a senior human resources executive, Matthew Breitfelder (MBA 2002) has seen a lot of change in the corporate talent space. But what’s happening now looks like a tectonic generational shift. From his perch as global head of human... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Illustrations by Doug Chayka; Administration of Human Resource Programs; Administration of Human Resource Programs

01 Dec 2023
News

Turning Point: Where Credit Is Due

Mongolian People’s Party, the ruling social democratic party, which has a rich history spanning over a century. Two years before my election, a public information transparency law went into effect. Out of curiosity, I researched the government’s View Details

Keywords: Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

August 2020
Article

A History of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in the United States: Political Appeal and Public Health Efficacy

By: A Jay Holmgren, Alyssa Botelho and Allan M Brandt

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have become a widely embraced policy to address the US opioid crisis. Despite mixed scientific evidence on their effectiveness at improving health and reducing overdose deaths, 49 states and Washington, DC have adopted... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Information Technology; Programs; Technology Adoption; History; Government and Politics; Policy; United States

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14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

Sweden has long seemed like a social-welfare capitalist dream come true, where companies and labor unions collaborate in harmony with government support. Swedish citizens are among the wealthiest in the world, and they enjoy publicly... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

Web

South Asia - Global

deep learning occurs when students are actively engaged in the classroom. Participants appreciated the opportunity to learn from HBS faculty. February 2025 Event Immersion for One on Corporate Governance and Women Leaders with Prof.... View Details

23 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: How Wikipedia Works (or Doesn’t)

lead to an HBS case study, written with professor Karim R. Lakhani, on how Wikipedia governs itself and faces controversial challenges. The elbows are sharp on Wikipedia. It's not cuddly.—Andy McAfee The case offers students a chance to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

Investigation," co-written by HBS colleagues Ranjay Gulati, the Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration and head of the Organizational Behavior unit; Ryan L. Raffaelli, an assistant professor in the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Web

Strategy - Faculty & Research

complexities of alliance switching in the airline industry. Students explore trade-offs between governance models (joint ventures vs. alliances), alliance membership vs. independence, and the risks and benefits of minority equity... View Details

2010
Book

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal

By: Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened for business, thus changing the face of both world trade and military power and playing a pivotal role in the rise of the United States on the world stage. Today we view the creation of the Panama Canal as a... View Details

Keywords: Political History; For-Profit Firms; Development Economics; Infrastructure; State Ownership; Ship Transportation; Panama; United States

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