Publications

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March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

The CHIPS Program Office

By: Mitchell B. Weiss and Sebastian Negron-Reichard

In February 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo weighed signing off on a Notice of Funding Opportunity (“NOFO”) with at least one unconventional provision: a pre-application (“pre-app”) to the actual application for parts of $39 billion in direct semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Motivation and Incentives; Semiconductor Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

January 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Financing American Housing Construction in the Aftermath of War

By: David Moss and Cole Bolton

At the start of WWI, the United States faced a significant housing shortage. Public officials feared the spread of disease—and even communism—in the nation's cramped urban centers where vacancy rates held near zero and families often "doubled up" in single-housing... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Bonds; Mortgages; Government Legislation; Business History; Housing; Banking Industry; United States

October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Accounting for Productivity Growth

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Introduces students to the arithmetic of the accounting for national productivity growth. It defines labor productivity, capital productivity, and total factor productivity, describes the relationships among them, and discusses the phenomena that cause them to change... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Macroeconomics; Analytics and Data Science; Government and Politics; Mathematical Methods; United States; Singapore

18 Jun 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Evaluating the Impact of SA 8000 Certification

Keywords: by Michael J. Hiscox, Claire Schwartz & Michael W. Toffel

December 2003
Case

George Mitchell in Northern Ireland (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Daniel F. Curran

Examines the strategies and tactics that U.S. negotiator George Mitchell used during his two-year tenure as chairman of the all-party talks in Northern Ireland. His efforts culminated in the signing of the historic Good Friday Accords. A revised version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Policy; International Relations; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Northern Ireland; United States

April 1992
Case

Malaysia (A)

By: Bruce R. Scott

Riots in 1969 bring martial law and a new, more firmly Malay government which sets out to promote redistribution of opportunity, income, and wealth by race-based quotas. Dr. Mahatherl, a Malay nationalist says Malays have a non-competitive alliance which must be forced... View Details

Keywords: Wealth and Poverty; Change Management; Race; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Malaysia

2012
Article

Do Voters Demand Responsive Governments? Evidence from Indian Disaster Relief

By: Shawn Cole, Andrew Healy and Eric Werker

Using rainfall, public relief, and election data from India, we examine how governments respond to adverse shocks and how voters react to these responses. The data show that voters punish the incumbent party for weather events beyond its control. However, fewer voters... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; System Shocks; Natural Disasters; Policy; Motivation and Incentives; Public Opinion; India

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24 May 2010
Research & Ideas

Stimulus Surprise: Companies Retrench When Government Spends

Recent research at Harvard Business School began with the premise that as a state's congressional delegation grew in stature and power in Washington, D.C., local businesses would benefit from the increased... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Editorial

Zeroing Out on zero-COVID

By: William C. Kirby

China’s culture reveres science, yet operates under a government that often defines what “science” is and is not. China’s “zero-COVID” policy has created a bifurcated scientific community that threatens international collaboration in science and technology. A... View Details

Keywords: COVID; Scientific Community; World Health Organization; Pseudoscience; Governance; Government and Politics; Health; Research and Development; Social Media; China

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2010
Article

The Strategic Use of Brand Biographies

By: Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Juliet Schor

We introduce the concept of a brand biography to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author a dynamic, historical account of the events that have shaped the brand over time. Using a particular type of brand biography, "the underdog," we empirically... View Details

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March 2018
Exercise

Does It Hurt To Ask?

By: Alison Wood Brooks

Does It Hurt To Ask? (DIHTA) is an interactive exercise that pairs students (in groups of two) for a brief, spontaneous, open-ended conversation during class. Each student is given instructions to ask many questions (as many as possible) or few questions (ideally zero)... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy; Perception; Information; Power and Influence

25 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Planning for Surprises

so common? A: Our research shows that there are psychological, organizational, and political factors that conspire to keep us from dealing with problems that are worthy of our attention. Psychological... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Reinventing Savings Bonds

Keywords: by Peter Tufano & Daniel Schneider; Financial Services

April 2006
Module Note

Cross-Border Financial Opportunities

By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs

Describes the fifth module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. This module explores how segmented capital markets create financing opportunities for firms and the mechanisms that evolve to take advantage of those opportunities. The issues... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Capital Markets; Decisions; International Finance; Motivation and Incentives; Taxation