Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(250)
- Faculty Publications (113)
- September–October 2015
- Article
Crash and Burn: Why Silicon Valley's Notion That Failure Leads to Success Won't Work for the Rest of the World
By: Debora L. Spar
In the frenzied hills of Silicon Valley, going bust is common. Research attests that close to half of start-ups supported by venture capital chew through most or all of their backers' money and that the majority never achieve their projected returns on investment. But... View Details
- 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
- May–June 2015
- Article
Dead Weight: How Greece Wound up Trapped in the European Union
By: Debora L. Spar
In the early 1990s, Greece fell far afield of the economic criteria laid out by the Maastricht Treaty, the EU's founding document. In 1999, when the European monetary union was launched, Greece failed to meet the criteria again, but managed to squeeze into the body two... View Details
- March–April 2015
- Article
The Almighty Ruble
By: Debora L. Spar
At 1 AM Moscow time on December 16, Russia's central bank announced a massive hike in the country's interest rate, from 10.5% to 17%. It's not clear how Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his colleagues could realistically have expected to achieve anything by hiking the... View Details
- January–February 2015
- Article
Heroic Villains: Are Foreign Investors Problems or Solutions in the Ebola Crisis?
By: Debora L. Spar
For months, the news out of West Africa has been unrelentingly grim. As of early December, the devastating Ebola epidemic had infected a reported 17,942 people and killed 6,388, according to the World Health Organization (WHO); the actual toll, which would also account... View Details
- Book Review
Leaning in Without Falling Over
By: Debora L. Spar
Deborah L. Spar reviews "What Works for Women at Work: Four Patterns Working Women Need to Know," by Joan C. Williams and Rachel Dempsey, who explore workplace sociology as it pertains to the needs, goals and difficulties faced by women in the workforce. View Details
- November 2007
- Class Lecture
The Baby Business (FSS)
By: Debora L. Spar
In vitro fertilization and genetic screening are possible with the advent of biotechnology. International adoptions, surrogacy, and other approaches to family planning are on the rise. But few rules govern these measures, medical costs can be prohibitive, and... View Details
- January 2007 (Revised February 2010)
- Case
Afghanistan 2006: Building a Brand New State
By: Noel Maurer, Debora L. Spar and J. Gunnar Trumbull
In 2006, Afghanistan remains a country in turmoil. It has a newly elected democratic government, a rebounding economy, and considerable economic potential. But the country is still torn by rival factions and dominated by the opium trade. Explores how Afghanistan has... View Details
- April 2006 (Revised November 2008)
- Case
The Coartem Challenge (A)
By: Debora L. Spar and Brian DeLacey
- February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
- Case
deCODE Genetics: Hunting for Genes to Develop Drugs
By: Debora L. Spar
In 1996, Kari Stefansson launched a new kind of biotechnology company and a whole new way of attacking diseases. Based in Iceland, his firm, deCODE Genetics, plans to identify the individual genetic markers that lead to society's most prevalent diseases. To do so, it... View Details
- February 2006 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
China: Building "Capitalism with Socialist Characteristics"
By: Debora L. Spar
Describes China's phenomenal development from a poor, communist country to a global powerhouse. Provides background on China's history and culture, details the reforms launched in 1978 by Seng Xiaoping, and describes the situation as of 2006, focusing on the... View Details
- January 2006 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
Drug Testing in Nigeria (A)
By: Debora L. Spar
In 1996, a meningitis epidemic swept across Nigeria. Thousands of children were struck and, lacking appropriate medicine, were liable to die from the disease. Doctors at Pfizer had an antibiotic that could probably save most of these children's lives. The drug was new,... View Details
- February 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Rx Depot: Importing Drugs from Canada
By: Debora L. Spar
In 2002, a handful of entrepreneurs began to ship drugs from Canada into the United States, taking advantage of regulatory and price differentials across the neighboring countries. Using the Internet and a low-cost network of Canadian pharmacies, firms like Rx Depot... View Details
- March 2004 (Revised June 2004)
- Case
Business of Life, The
By: Debora L. Spar
Every day, around the world, babies and children are being sold. Frequently, these transactions appear to be above or beyond the market. Orphaned children are never "sold"--they are only "matched" with their "forever families." Eggs are "donated," and surrogate mothers... View Details
- January 2004 (Revised November 2004)
- Case
Rwandan Tea Industry, The: Looking into the Future
By: Debora L. Spar
In 2003, the Rwandan government was focused on transforming the nation's tea industry into a world-class competitor. To accomplish this objective and stave off the downward prices that plagued the international tea market, the government believed that the industry... View Details