Publications

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

(Photo source: iStock) Economic cluster theory has been used to describe the growth of many industries, including the automotive business around Detroit, high tech in Silicon Valley, and digital media in Seoul. These regions benefit by a... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

6 Apr 2006
Other Presentation

Economic Strategy for Newark

By: Michael E. Porter

OpportunityNewark (ON) is a market-driven economic development initiative to increase the competitiveness of Newark as a business location, stimulate business development, and better connect residents to job opportunities. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development; Society; United States

2019
Working Paper

Information, Globalization and Preferences for Economic Policy: Evidence from Randomized Surveys

By: Laura Alfaro, Davin Chor and Maggie Chen

Keywords: Information; Globalization; Economic Policy

Forthcoming
Article

On the Economic Origins of Concerns Over Women’s Chastity

By: Anke Becker

This paper studies the origins and function of customs and norms that intend to keep women from being promiscuous. Using large-scale survey data from more than 100 countries, I test the anthropological theory that a particular form of preindustrial... View Details

Keywords: Infibulation; Female Sexuality; Paternity Uncertainty; Concern About Women's Chastity; Pastoralism; Economic Anthropology; History; Gender; Social Issues; Culture

Forthcoming
Article

Non-Binary Gender Economics

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Lucas C. Coffman and Keith Marzilli Ericson

Economics research has largely overlooked non-binary individuals. We aim to jump-start the literature by providing data on several economically-important beliefs and preferences. Among many results, non-binary individuals report more gender-based discrimination and... View Details

Keywords: Inclusion; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Personal Characteristics

1996
Chapter

Economic Performance

By: R. H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Performance

Teaching Interest

Economic Theory

By: Jerry R. Green

Topics include social choice theory, signaling, mechanism design, general equilibrium, the core, externalities, and public goods. View Details

January 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Judo Economics

The early 1990s saw a new wave of start-ups in the U.S. airline business. One entrant, Kiwi International Air Lines, took to the skies in September 1992 with a strategy of attracting small-business travelers looking to save money but lacking the flexibility to book in... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Advantage; Business Startups; Air Transportation Industry; Financial Services Industry

Educators

19 Jul 2012
Other Presentation

Competitiveness and Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter

Competitiveness and Economic Development: Briefing for Dr. Jim Kim View Details

Keywords: Economics; United States

July–August 2015
Article

The Secret of Singapore: Why Cuba Should Look to Lee Kuan Yew's Thriving City-State for Economic Inspiration

By: Debora L. Spar

Between 1965 and 1991, Singapore grew at an astonishing compound annual growth rate of nearly 14%. Critics of the island's performance accused its celebrated leader, Lee Kuan Yew, of thinly veiled tendencies toward communism and authoritarianism; they argued that the... View Details

Keywords: Economic Models; Communism; Economic Policy; Economic Reform; Angel Investors; Authoritarianism; Economic Systems; Economy; Policy; Government and Politics; Singapore; Cuba

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

The Simple Economics of Open Source

outwardly the situation smells of economic anarchy. Where are the market forces, when thousands of talented programmers—and even many commercial firms—spend inordinate amounts of time writing and sharing computer source code: an activity... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Technology

November 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

Understanding Economic Value Added

By: Mihir A. Desai, Fabrizio Ferri and Steve Treadwell

Explores the concept of economic value added (EVA) and its practical applications as a management control system for performance measurement and incentive compensation. Explains how EVA is measured and explores some of the adjustments to financial statements that are... View Details

Keywords: Value

Educators

2014
Working Paper

Profits and Economic Development

By: Dan Schwab and Eric Werker

Are rents, or excess profits, good for development? Using industry-level manufacturing data, this paper demonstrates a negative effect of rents, measured by the mark-up ratio, on productivity growth. The negative effect is strongest in poor countries, suggesting that... View Details

Keywords: Firm Performance; Rent; Mark-up; Competition; Manufacturing; Development Economics; Profit; Economic Growth; Renting or Rental

SSRN

Article

Space, the Final Economic Frontier

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl

After decades of centralized control of economic activity in space, NASA and U.S. policymakers have begun to cede the direction of human activities in space to commercial companies. NASA garnered more than 0.7% of GDP in the mid-1960s but is only around 0.1% of GDP... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Economics; Private Sector; Aerospace Industry

February 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Teaching Note

Making stickK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics

By: Leslie K. John and Michael Norton

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Making sticK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics (514019). The case focuses on a... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Behavior Change; B2B Vs. B2C; Human Resource Management; Marketing Of Innovations; Health ＆ Wellness; Weight Loss; Charitable Giving; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Health; Business Model; Sales; Human Resources; Health Industry; United States

Research Summary

The Economics of Digitization

By: Shane M. Greenstein

What is the value of digital platforms that build on user-generated content? How well do existing frameworks explain the value of these businesses? While drawing on prior work, this research stream examines new issues in parts of the economy that previously were... View Details

Research Summary

Sustainable Inner-City Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter is using the framework he developed in The Competitive Advantage of Nations to examine the economic development problems in distressed inner-city areas. He seeks to understand the potential of inner-city businesses, government policies, and... View Details

11 Aug 2014
HBS Case

The Business of Behavioral Economics

You've done everything—endured diets, purged your freezer of Ben & Jerry's, and educated yourself on fat, sugar, and calories. Yet, you can't manage to lose weight. What's wrong with you? According to standard economic theory, which... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Health

2013
Working Paper

International Health Economics

By: Mark Egan and Tomas J. Philipson

Perhaps because health care is a local service sector, health economists have paid little attention to international linkages between domestic health care economies. However, the growth in domestic health care sectors is often attributed to medical innovations whose... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Global Range; Economics