Publications

Research Summary

Corporate Governance and International Competitiveness

By: W. Carl Kester

W. Carl Kester's research involves comparisons of national or broad regional systems of corporate governance (e.g., German, Japanese, Anglo-American), and the influence these systems exert on corporate investment and international competitiveness. Kester has found... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Internal Models, Make Believe Prices, and Bond Market Cornering

By: Ishita Sen and Varun Sharma

Exploiting position-level heterogeneity in regulatory incentives to misreport and novel data on regulators, we document that U.S. life insurers inflate the values of corporate bonds using internal models. We estimate an additional $9-$18 billion decline in regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Life Insurers; Capital Regulation; Internal Models; Corporate Bonds; Regulatory Supervision; Concentrated Ownership; Bonds; Capital; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Insurance; Investment Portfolio

SSRN

2021
Working Paper

Going Out or Opting Out? Capital, Political Vulnerability, and the State in China's Outward Investment

By: Meg Rithmire

How do state-business relations interact with outward investment in authoritarian regimes? This paper examines this question in the context of China’s rapid transformation into major capital exporter. While most political economy scholarship focuses on firms’ economic... View Details

Keywords: Outward Investment; Capital Controls; Investment; Global Range; Capital; Globalization; Policy; Government and Politics; China

10 Jun 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Governance and Internal Capital Markets

Keywords: by Zacharias Sautner & Belén Villalonga

June 2000
Case

Intel Capital: The Berkeley Networks Investment

By: Henry W. Chesbrough and David Lane

Discusses how Intel Corp. uses corporate venture capital to explore new technologies in new markets. Intel combines external investments with internal research and development. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Venture Capital; Investment; Research and Development; Semiconductor Industry

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; Family Business; Economy; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Global Strategy; Reputation; Diversification; Wealth; Real Estate Industry; Germany

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Bringing History into International Business

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Tarun Khanna; Financial Services

July 1997
Background Note

Basic Capital Investment Analysis

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Discusses the net present value and internal rate of return methods for analyzing capital investments. Assumes prior knowledge of compound interest and present value methods. View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Valuation

April 2022
Article

Going Out or Opting Out? Capital, Political Vulnerability, and the State in China's Outward Investment

By: Meg Rithmire

How do state-business relations interact with outward investment in authoritarian regimes? This paper examines this question in the context of China’s rapid transformation into a major capital exporter. While most political economy scholarship focuses on firms’... View Details

Keywords: Outward Investment; Capital Controls; Corruption; Foreign Direct Investment; Political Economy; State-owned Enterprises; Investment; Global Range; Capital; Globalization; Policy; Government and Politics; China

Find at Harvard

2012
Working Paper

Payout Taxes and the Allocation of Investment

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Equity; Financing and Loans; Investment; Taxation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives

January 2013
Article

Payout Taxes and the Allocation of Investment

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Investment; Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation

Find at Harvard

February 1998
Case

Creating the International Trade Organization

By: David A. Moss, George R. Appling and Andrew D Archer

In the late 1940s, officials at the U.S. State Department began campaigning for the creation of an International Trade Organization (ITO). This new organization would oversee global negotiations on trade liberalization, foreign direct investment, cartels, and commodity... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Globalized Economies and Regions; Agreements and Arrangements; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Systems; International Relations

2000
Other Unpublished Work

Administrative Barriers to Foreign Investment: Reducing Red Tape in Africa

By: L. T. Wells Jr., Timothy S. Buehrer, James J. Emery and Melvin T. Spence Jr.

Keywords: Government and Politics; Foreign Direct Investment

Research Summary

Level Playing Fields in International Financial Regulation

Joint work with Alan Morrison, Saïd Business School, Oxford.

We study a model of featuring two economies with adverse selection of and moral hazard by bankers. We demonstrate... View Details

2023
Working Paper

Point Four and the Politics of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States during the Early Cold War

By: Melanie Sheehan

This article traces business influence in the formulation of the Point Four technical assistance program, the first US Cold War-era international development program. It focuses specifically on business interest associations’ efforts to secure federal incentives to... View Details

Keywords: Point Four Program; Business Interest Association; International Development; Cold War; Foreign Direct Investment; Business History; Business and Government Relations

13 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Global Investments Are Still a Good Bet

Photo by iStock Investors in global equity markets have traditionally hedged their bets, casting their investments far and wide across the world. That way, if the market in one country or region stagnated (think Japan in the 1990s or... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

June 2010 (Revised September 2013)
Case

IDFC India: Infrastructure Investment Intermediaries

By: John D. Macomber and Viraal Balsari

Indian financial intermediary matching international capital to local infrastructure decides how to balance range of services, risk-adjusted return, margin pressure, and nation building. IDFC was chartered with partial ownership from the Indian government to help... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Infrastructure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Financial Services Industry; India

January 1994 (Revised February 1994)
Background Note

Intercorporate Investment and Consolidated Statements

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses accounting for intercorporate investments and the preparation of consolidated statements. U.S. and non-U.S. accounting standards are covered with emphasis on SFAS No. 52. View Details

Keywords: Investment; International Accounting