Publications

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2010
Other Unpublished Work

International Capital Allocation, Sovereign Borrowing, and Growth

By: Laura Alfaro, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Vadym Volosovych

The key in the investigation of "where" and "why" capital flows, relative to the neoclassical benchmark, is how we measure these flows. The macro literature has been using three main yardsticks: the current account balance, returns to capital, and the volume of net... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Cash Flow; Private Equity; Public Equity; International Finance; Sovereign Finance; Government and Politics

04 Mar 2009
Op-Ed

Credit is Not the Bogey

commercials. From one vantage, the credit industry is to blame for our economic woes. The solutions have centered on tightening credit—loaning only to homebuyers who can make a 20 percent down payment, returning to the standards View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas & Eric S. Belsky; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

07 Jul 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Predictable Financial Crises

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, Andrei Shleifer, and Jakob Ahm Sørensen

January 2008 (Revised February 2008)
Case

South Dakota Wheat Growers

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

As a farmer-owned cooperative, South Dakota Wheat Growers (SDWG) serves the needs of its 3,600 active farmer-members by supplying farm inputs and organizing the marketing and transportation of grain produced in the co-op's service territory. For almost 80 years, the... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Production; Rail Transportation; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Economic Growth; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; South Dakota

May 2002
Background Note

Exporting IT-Enabled Services from Developing Countries

Explores the phenomenon of IT-enabled services (ITES) exports from developing countries. Reviews the business and technical drivers of this phenomenon, describes major segments of the industry, discusses key challenges facing these firms, and profiles seven ITES firms. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Developing Countries and Economies; Technology Industry

20 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 20, 2018

advancing her enterprise's goals and objectives through a faster and ever-larger-reaching set of media. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54007 Winter 2018 Journal of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2007
Case

South African Airways (A)

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Laura Morgan Roberts and Laura Winig

Amid efforts to engineer a turnaround at South African Airways (SAA), the CEO confronts an impending strike at the struggling company. How should the company address questions of distributive and procedural justice in post-Apartheid South Africa, and how should the CEO... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Crisis Management; Employees; Employment; Growth and Development; Developing Countries and Economies; Air Transportation Industry; South Africa

Article

Marketing Complex Financial Products in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Rainfall Insurance in India

By: Sarthak Gaurav, Shawn A. Cole and Jeremy Tobacman

Recent financial liberalization in emerging economies has led to the rapid introduction of new financial products. Lack of experience with financial products, low levels of education, and low financial literacy may slow adoption of these products. This article reports... View Details

Keywords: Literacy; Insurance; Marketing; Decisions; Demand and Consumers; Financial Instruments; Emerging Markets; Education; Personal Finance; Agribusiness; Developing Countries and Economies; Innovation and Invention; Gujarat

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Technical Note

Strategic Complements and Substitutes

By: Eric Van den Steen

The framework of strategic complements and substitutes can help companies anticipate competitors' responses. It is particularly helpful in deciding on price- or capacity-commitments (or pre-emption), but it can provide more general guidance for analyzing the potential... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Strategic Substitutes; Strategic Complements; Puppy Dog Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Game Theory; Strategy; Economics

2023
Working Paper

Targeting, Personalization, and Engagement in an Agricultural Advisory Service

By: Susan Athey, Shawn Cole, Shanjukta Nath and Jessica Zhu

ICT is increasingly used to deliver customized information in developing countries. We examine whether individually targeting the timing of automated voice calls meaningfully increases engagement in an agricultural advisory service. We define, estimate, and... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Knowledge Dissemination; Customization and Personalization; Performance Effectiveness

Read Now

March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesotho's Textile Industry

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Regina M. Abrami, Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

In Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the stirrings of industrialization and modernization were promising, and more than 50,000 workers, mostly women, were employed in the textile sector; the figure reflected more than a threefold increase in just a few... View Details

Keywords: History; Labor Unions; Trade; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Crisis; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Lesotho

Fall 2012
Article

Foreign Entry and the Mexican Banking System, 1997-2007

By: Stephen Haber and Aldo Musacchio

What is the impact of foreign bank entry on the pricing and availability of credit in developing economies? The Mexican banking system provides a quasi-experiment to address this question because in 1997 the Mexican government radically changed the laws governing the... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Ownership; Foreign Direct Investment; Laws and Statutes; Developing Countries and Economies; Banking Industry; Mexico