Publications

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

Compounding the challenge of supporting this population shift, governments from developing to industrialized countries are limited in their capacity and political will to devise solutions to accommodate... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

02 Dec 2009
What Do You Think?

Should Immigration Policies Be More Welcoming to Low-Skilled Workers?

Summing Up Low-skilled immigrants: burden or opportunity? Immigration is apparently a topic that stirs passions globally, judging from the responses to this month's column. As Nauman Lodhi pointed out, "Tough times give rise more than ever to tough thoughts View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

July 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Social Security Reform

Examines various approaches to pension reform. Examines the current Social Security system in the United States, pension reform in other countries, and the leading approaches to reform. Concludes with analysis of three questions: 1) would returns be higher in a private... View Details

Keywords: Privatization; Retirement; Welfare or Wellbeing; Government and Politics; Public Administration Industry; United States

11 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

U.S. Tops Business Competitiveness Index 2006

The United States and Germany remain atop the latest Business Competitiveness Index, with China continuing to slip in the rankings while India ascends, according to a report released from Harvard Business School's Institute for Strategy... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2008
Working Paper

Where Does It Go? Spending by the Financially Constrained

By: Shawn A. Cole, John Thompson and Peter Tufano

In this paper, we analyze the spending decisions of over 1.5 million Americans who vary in their degree of revealed credit constraints. Specifically, we analyze how these Americans spend their income tax refunds, using transaction-level data from a stored-value card... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Credit; Personal Finance; Spending; Taxation; Consumer Behavior; United States

March 27, 2020
Other Article

Lessons from Italy's Response to Coronavirus

By: Gary P. Pisano, Raffaella Sadun and Michele Zanini

Policymakers in many parts of Europe and the United States are struggling to bring the rapidly spreading Covid-19 pandemic under control. In doing so, they are repeating many of the mistakes made in Italy, where the pandemic turned into a disaster. A major contributing... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Government and Politics; Decision Making; Italy

March 2006
Module Note

Financing Decisions within the Firm

By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs

Describes a core module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. The module focuses on the financial and managerial issues that confront managers who make financial decisions within multinational firms: how subsidiaries should be financed and... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; International Finance; Taxation; Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Framework; Performance Evaluation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

23 Jun 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Using Financial Innovation to Support Savers: From Coercion to Excitement

Keywords: by Peter Tufano & Daniel Schneider; Financial Services

03 Dec 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Walking the Talk in Multiparty Bargaining: An Experimental Investigation

Keywords: by Kathleen L. McGinn, Katherine L. Milkman & Markus Nöth

2009
Working Paper

Capitalizing On Innovation: The Case of Japan

By: Robert Dujarric and Andrei Hagiu

Japan's industrial landscape is characterized by hierarchical forms of industry organization, which are increasingly inadequate in modern sectors, where innovation relies on platforms and horizontal ecosystems of firms producing complementary products. Using three... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; Innovation and Invention; Industry Structures; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

February 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Kickstarting Tomato Jos in Nigeria

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Risa Kavalercik

In the spring of 2016, Mira Mehta (HBS 2014), faced a difficult decision. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign and winning the second place in the HBS New Venture Competition—Social Enterprise Track, she had moved to Northern Nigeria, where she founded the... View Details

Keywords: Nigeria; Entrepreneurs; Import Substitution; China In Africa; Killer Tomato Paste; Mira Mehta; Tomato Jos; Developing Countries and Economies; Social Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government Legislation; Business History; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria

Educators

23 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Brexit: Should Britain Stay or Go?

wider political implications that concern me most. Brexit will put a real border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, for example, and that will pose a threat... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Dante Roscini

06 Sep 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The Excess Burden of Government Indecision

Keywords: by Francisco J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Luis M. Viceira

February 1995 (Revised February 1998)
Case

India in the 1990s

By: George C. Lodge and Ahu Bhasin

Describes the efforts of Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to deregulate and open up the Indian economy in the early 1990s. Focuses on the difficulties he encountered, reflected in the poor showing of the ruling Congress Party in state elections in December... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Economic Growth; Government and Politics; India

Educators

April 2006 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Managing National Intelligence (A): Before 9/11

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Michael Roberto and Erika Ferlins

Examines the management of national intelligence prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Describes the actions taken by a variety of government agencies, including the FBI, the CIA, the FAA, and the Department of Defense, to detect and deter such attacks. View Details

Keywords: War; National Security; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Crisis Management; Management Systems; Public Administration Industry; United States

November 2021
Article

Making Industrial Policy Work for Decarbonization

By: Jonas Meckling

Industrial policy has begun to move into the center of debates on climate policy. This represents a shift away from climate policy as we know it—as classic environmental policy. Industrial policy and environmental policy differ in their policy goals, policy... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Regulation; Policy; Government and Politics; Climate Change

October 1998 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Austin, Texas: Building a High-Tech Economy

By: Bruce R. Scott and Srinivas Sunder

Members of the community decide to try to diversify the economy of Austin, Texas, by welcoming high-technology firms and by augmenting the electrical engineering faculty at University of Texas--Austin. View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Diversification; Information Technology; Policy; Government and Politics; Engineering; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Higher Education; Texas

Article

Positioning The Nation State

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz

Having a clear, differentiated positioning gives a country an advantage in attracting investment, business and tourism, and in building markets for its exports. Countries like Greece, Spain and Chile are successfully repositioning themselves using coordinated marketing... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Country; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Government and Politics

November 2008 (Revised January 2011)
Exercise

Breaking Through Action Plan

By: David A. Thomas and Karen J. Watai

The "Breaking Through Action Plan" is a developmental tool based on the book, Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America by David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro. The Action Plan was originally designed as part of a facilitated session but... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Power and Influence; Trust