Publications

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July 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

Diageo and East African Breweries Ltd.: Tapping New Markets for Social Good

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

James Musyoki, Lemmy Mutahi, and Ken Kariuki, all from East African Breweries Limited (EABL), a subsidiary of London-based Diageo, heard the disheartening news in the first week of December 2008. For the second time in six months, the Kenyan Finance Ministry had raised... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation and Management; Emerging Markets; Taxation; Price; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; United Kingdom

02 Oct 2017
News

SCOTUS and the Duopoly's Deadlock — CEO Daily, Monday, 2nd October

Do Powerful Politicians Cause Corporate Downsizing?

This paper employs a new empirical approach for identifying the impact of government spending on the private sector. Our key innovation is to use changes in congressional committee chairmanship as a source of exogenous variation in state-level federal xpenditures. In... View Details

2019
Working Paper

Do Banks Have an Edge?

By: Juliane Begenau and Erik Stafford

Overall, no! We show that the level and time series variation in cash flows for most bank activities are well matched by capital market portfolios with similar interest rate and credit risk to what banks report to hold. Ignoring operating expenses, bank loans earn high... View Details

Keywords: Banks; Market Efficiency; Bank Capital; Bank Debt; CAPM; Banking; Bank Deposits; Bank Funding Advantage; Leverage; Maturity Transformation; Replicating Portfolio; Efficiency; Banks and Banking; Capital Markets; Performance Evaluation; Performance Efficiency; Banking Industry; United States

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August 2020 (Revised November 2022)
Case

George Soros: The Stateless Statesman

By: Geoffrey Jones and Wendy Ying

This case traces the business career and philanthropic activities of George Soros. The Hungarian-born Soros made a fortune as a hedge fund investor after establishing Quantum Fund on the tax haven island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles in 1973 where he was... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Philanthropy; Populism; Finance; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Political Elections; Personal Development and Career; Leadership Style; Financial Services Industry; Europe; Hungary; United Kingdom; North and Central America; United States

04 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Putting Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector

The social sector is big business. In the United States alone some 1.5 million nonprofits and other social ventures have combined revenues of $700 billion and control assets valued at $2 trillion—a seemingly substantial arsenal to tackle problems in crucial areas such... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 1993 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Continental Airlines--1992 (Abridged)

By: Stuart C. Gilson

The CEO is preparing a recommendation to the board regarding several potential outside investments in the company, which is currently operating in bankruptcy. In making his decision, the CEO has to consider various financial and strategic factors, including possible... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Aerospace Industry; United States

Regina E. Herzlinger is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to be tenured and chaired at Harvard Business School and serve on many established and start-up corporate health care/medical... View Details

Keywords: health care; insurance industry; medical devices; retailing; digital health

25 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

hassle, for example, by calling an Uber or ordering takeout. While such results might be expected, Jachimowicz says, people may not consider the extent to which the daily hassles we all face create more stress for cash-strapped individuals—or the way a lack of cash may... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2002 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Welfare State and its Impact on Business Competitiveness, The: Sweden Inc. for Sale?

By: Huw Pill, Petter Johnsson, Ola Nordquist and Ingrid Vogel

The Swedish Model--sometimes presented as a third way between savage capitalism and unrealistic socialism--was much lauded in the 1960s. It was viewed as a strategy that addressed social concerns while supporting economic growth. However, the financial and currency... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Welfare; Government and Politics; Taxation; Competition; Public Administration Industry; Sweden

December 1999 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Praedium Corporation

By: Henry B. Reiling and Catherine M. Conneely

George Hicks and Patricia Ferrey, primary shareholders of the Praedium Corp., faced a dilemma that could dissolve their real estate management company. Praedium received an attractive offer to lease one of its properties, however, Hicks did not want to terminate the... View Details

Keywords: Leasing; Property; Taxation; Investment Return; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry

05 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

An Exploration of Optimal Stabilization Policy

Keywords: by N. Gregory Mankiw & Matthew C. Weinzierl

Web

Admissions & Financial Support - Doctoral

More Diversely By: Kai Krautter , Anabel Büchner and Jon M. Jachimowicz 01 JUL 2025 | Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Tax Elasticities of Top Donors: Evidence from Family Foundations By: Simon Essig Aberg 02 JUN 2025 | Faculty... View Details

21 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 21, 2006

multinational firms hold cash in their foreign subsidiaries because of the tax costs associated with repatriating foreign income. Consistent with this hypothesis, firms that face higher repatriation tax... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July – August 2009
Article

The Descent of Finance

What if the current recession turns out to be like the Great Depression of 1929-1933? Four years from now, the United States might find itself with a still-shrinking economy, half as many banks as in 2009, a third as many hedge funds, and retail banking resembling a... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry

Article

Debt Maturity: Is Long-Term Debt Optimal?

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

We model and calibrate the arguments in favor and against short-term and long-term debt. These arguments broadly include: maturity premium, sustainability, and service smoothing. We use a dynamic equilibrium model with tax distortions and government... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Investment Return; Development Economics; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Cost; Interest Rates; Developing Countries and Economies; Welfare; United States; Brazil

Find at Harvard

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21 Oct 2016
News

The barbarian establishment

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Fuel Cells: The Hydrogen Revolution?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis

The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Environmental Sustainability; Infrastructure; Government Administration; Energy Sources; Business and Government Relations; Network Effects; Transportation; Green Technology Industry; Energy Industry; European Union; Japan; United States