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(1,693)
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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,693)
- News (229)
- Research (1,232)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (835)
- September 2011
- Article
Political Instability: Effects on Financial Development, Roots in the Severity of Economic Inequality
By: Mark J. Roe and Jordan I. Siegel
We here bring forward strong evidence that political instability impedes financial development, with its variation a primary determinant of differences in financial development around the world. As such, it needs to be added to the short list of major determinants of... View Details
Keywords: Financial Development; Political Instability; Government and Politics; Finance; Growth and Development; Economics; Equality and Inequality
Roe, Mark J., and Jordan I. Siegel. "Political Instability: Effects on Financial Development, Roots in the Severity of Economic Inequality." Journal of Comparative Economics 39, no. 3 (September 2011): 279–309. (We here bring forward strong evidence that political instability impedes financial development, with its variation a primary determinant of differences in financial development around the world. As such, it needs to be added to the short list of major determinants of financial development. First, structural conditions first postulated by
Engerman and Sokoloff (2002) as generating long-term inequality are shown here empirically to be exogenous determinants of political instability. Second, that exogenously-determined political instability in turn holds back financial development, even when we control for factors prominent in the last decade's cross-country studies of
financial development. The findings indicate that inequality-perpetuating conditions that result in political instability are fundamental roadblocks for international organizations like the World Bank that seek to promote financial development. The evidence here includes country fixed effect regressions and an instrumental model inspired by Engerman and Sokoloff's (2002) work, which to our knowledge has not yet been used in finance and which is consistent with current tests as valid instruments. Four conventional measures of national political instability — Alesina and Perotti's (1996) well-known index of instability, a subsequent index derived from Banks' (2005) work,
and two indices of managerial perceptions of nation-by-nation political instability — persistently predict a wide range of national financial development outcomes for recent decades. Political instability's significance is time consistent in cross-sectional regressions back to the 1960's, the period when the key data becomes available, robust
in both country fixed-effects and instrumental variable regressions, and consistent across multiple measures of instability and of financial development. Overall, the results indicate the existence of an important channel running from structural inequality to political instability, principally in nondemocratic settings, and then to financial
backwardness. The robust significance of that channel extends existing work demonstrating the importance of political economy explanations for financial development and financial backwardness. It should help to better understand which policies will work for financial development, because political instability has causes, cures, and effects quite distinct from those of many of the key institutions most studied in the past decade as explaining financial backwardness.)
- 17 Aug 2023
- Research & Ideas
‘Not a Bunch of Weirdos’: Why Mainstream Investors Buy Crypto
$45,000 or less accounted for another 20 percent of the transactions. This shows, Di Maggio says, that the crypto market consists of “average US investors that are using crypto as an alternative asset class in their portfolio.” Impact of COVID-19 stimulus Fiscal View Details
Keywords: by Ben Rand
- March 1993 (Revised July 2008)
- Case
Liability Management at General Motors
By: Peter Tufano
An analyst at General Motors charged with managing the structure of the automaker's debt must decide whether and how to modify the interest rate exposure of the firm's most recent debt offering. The analyst must take into consideration GM's liability management policy... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Capital Structure; Financial Management; Interest Rates; Risk Management; Auto Industry; North America
Tufano, Peter. "Liability Management at General Motors." Harvard Business School Case 293-123, March 1993. (Revised July 2008.)
- October 2014
- Case
Progressive, 2007-2013
By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin
In 2013, Progressive was the fourth largest player in the auto insurance market, having lost the third position to GEICO in 2008. As the industry shifted from agency to online sales, GEICO's direct selling model positioned it strongly for growth. Progressive's direct... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Change; Insurance Companies; Insurance; Strategy; Insurance Industry; North America
Wells, John R., and Galen Danskin. "Progressive, 2007-2013." Harvard Business School Case 715-427, October 2014.
- October 1988 (Revised December 1989)
- Case
Siemens Electric Motor Works (B): Pricing Interdivisional Sales
Examines Siemens' policy for pricing products transferred between the manufacturing and sales divisions of their Electric Motor Works, where both are profit centers. It is unique in that the organizational linkage between the product costing system and the transfer... View Details
Keywords: Production; Price; Organizational Structure; Profit; Business Processes; Manufacturing Industry
Wruck, Karen. "Siemens Electric Motor Works (B): Pricing Interdivisional Sales." Harvard Business School Case 189-090, October 1988. (Revised December 1989.)
- September 1992 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Japan Confronts an Interdependent World
By: George C. Lodge
Traces the evolution of Japan's economic strategy from 1972 to 1992. Describes the collapse of the Japanese stock market in the spring of 1992, raising the question: Is this the end of Japan's miraculous growth? To help students consider that question, the case... View Details
Keywords: Policy; Financial Markets; Information Technology; System Shocks; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Growth and Development; Situation or Environment; Japan; United States
Lodge, George C. "Japan Confronts an Interdependent World." Harvard Business School Case 793-034, September 1992. (Revised March 1998.)
- April 2011 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?
By: Richard H. K. Vietor and Diego Comin
Fifteen years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Policy; Employment; Wages; Competition; South Africa
Vietor, Richard H. K., and Diego Comin. "South Africa (A): Stuck in the Middle?" Harvard Business School Case 711-084, April 2011. (Revised May 2013.)
- 05 Oct 2014
- News
SEC’s new rules give US money market funds a floating feeling
- 2009
- Working Paper
Labor Regulations and European Private Equity
By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr
European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details
- April 1990
- Case
Philip Morris Companies' ""Bill of Rights"" Sponsorship Program
By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein
Describes the new policy of the National Archives of inviting corporate cosponsorship of historic exhibits and commemorations. In November 1989, Philip Morris Companies (PM) became the first cosponsor of the bicentennial commemoration of the Bill of Rights, and used... View Details
Keywords: Policy; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Advertising; Marketing Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Financing and Loans; Reputation; Nonprofit Organizations
Greyser, Stephen A., and Norman Klein. Philip Morris Companies' ""Bill of Rights"" Sponsorship Program. Harvard Business School Case 590-108, April 1990.
- 2008
- Chapter
The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
This paper summarizes the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement savings outcomes. After outlining the salient features of the various sources of retirement income in the U.S., the paper presents the empirical evidence on how defaults impact retirement... View Details
Keywords: Saving; Financial Condition; Retirement; Investment Funds; Microeconomics; Outcome or Result; Government and Politics; Financial Institutions; Macroeconomics; United States
Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States." In Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas, edited by Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha, 59–87. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
- 26 May 2011
- News
Good companies need more than words
- April 2011 (Revised December 2012)
- Supplement
South Africa (B): Getting Unstuck?
By: Richard H. K. Vietor and Diego Comin
15 years after ending apartheid, formal unemployment in South Africa was still at 24%. While the country had grown at 4 to 5% annually during the 2000s, the financial crisis set it back by 1 million more unemployed. Moreover, it seemed as if the nation were stuck... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Policy; Employment; Wages; Competition; South Africa
Vietor, Richard H. K., and Diego Comin. "South Africa (B): Getting Unstuck?" Harvard Business School Supplement 711-085, April 2011. (Revised December 2012.)
- Web
Podcast - Business & Environment
Podcast Podcast Business and policy leaders join Harvard Business School faculty to discuss what businesses are doing, can do, and should do to confront climate change. Follow on Apple Podcasts Follow on Spotify iHeart Pocket Casts Amazon... View Details
- 2009
- Article
Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It
By: Benjamin Edelman
The Internet's current numbering system is nearing exhaustion: Existing protocols allow only a finite set of computer numbers ("IP addresses"), and central authorities will soon deplete their supply. I evaluate a series of possible responses to this shortage: Sharing... View Details
Keywords: Internet; Performance Capacity; Technology Networks; Market Transactions; Resource Allocation; Policy; Price; Information Technology Industry
Edelman, Benjamin. "Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It." Auctions, Market Mechanisms and Their Applications 14 (2009): 95–106. (Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Science.) (Featured in Working Knowledge: When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses) (Circulated in 2008 as Running Out of Numbers? The Impending Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It.)
- June 2010 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
The Southeast Bank of Texas in the Financial Crisis
By: Robert C. Pozen and Benjamin Greff Schneider
The Southeast Bank of Texas, like most other financial institutions in the U.S., has fallen on hard times during the financial crisis of the past year. Now, in March 2009, the bank is faced with several choices as a result of the new reforms spawned from the financial... View Details
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Banking Industry; Texas
Pozen, Robert C., and Benjamin Greff Schneider. "The Southeast Bank of Texas in the Financial Crisis." Harvard Business School Case 310-141, June 2010. (Revised September 2011.)
- August 1998
- Case
General Motors Corp. (D),The : 1993-1996
By: Peter Tufano
The fourth in a four-part series, the case details the financial policies and practices at General Motors from 1990 to 1996. This case describes the set of financial decisions taken by the firm as its business recovered, and focuses on an immediate decision faced by... View Details
Tufano, Peter, Markus Mullarkey, and William J Widlern. "General Motors Corp. (D),The : 1993-1996." Harvard Business School Case 299-009, August 1998.
- February 2022 (Revised April 2022)
- Case
BUA Group
By: John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Wale Lawal
BUA Group must decide between investments in cement, road building, power generation, or sugar. Private businesses are important to economic development in Africa. Students must assess the competitive nature of each of these industries, the magnitude of capital... View Details
Keywords: Investing; Transportation; Strategy; Project Finance; Agribusiness; Construction; Infrastructure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria; Africa
Macomber, John D., Pippa Tubman Armerding, and Wale Lawal. "BUA Group." Harvard Business School Case 222-062, February 2022. (Revised April 2022.)
- March 2008 (Revised March 2010)
- Module Note
Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture
By: Laura Alfaro
This module note presents a series of case studies taught in the Harvard Business School course Institutions, Macroeconomics, and the Global Economy (IMaGE). The course addresses the opportunities created by the emergence of a global economy and proposes strategies for... View Details
Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Macroeconomics
Alfaro, Laura. "Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture." Harvard Business School Module Note 708-041, March 2008. (Revised March 2010.)
- April 2002 (Revised September 2002)
- Background Note
Capital Controls
By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Laura Alfaro
Only in the waning years of the 20th century did international financial markets begin to enjoy the freedom from government regulation that they had experienced before the first world war. By 2002, international capital markets had grown to be enormous--$1.2 trillion... View Details
Keywords: History; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Change Management; Cost vs Benefits; Governance Controls; Governance Compliance; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; Network Effects; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry
Abdelal, Rawi E., and Laura Alfaro. "Capital Controls." Harvard Business School Background Note 702-082, April 2002. (Revised September 2002.)