Publications

02 Mar 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Trump’s Tariffs Could Harm Allies as Much as Opponents

likely to have broader negative consequences. If the president’s goal was to impact China, which produces over half the world’s steel and aluminum, this policy might not succeed. China is only the eleventh biggest exporter of steel to the... View Details

Keywords: by Dante Roscini; Steel; Manufacturing

15 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

How is Foreign Aid Spent? Evidence from a Compelling Natural Experiment

Keywords: by Eric Werker, Faisal Z. Ahmed & Charles Cohen

2003
Other Unpublished Work

The Development of the Cluster Concept—Present Experiences and Recent Developments

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

This review presents an overview of the current research on clusters and cluster-based economic development. It is organized in three parts: First, it takes a look at the conceptual foundations of the cluster approach, discussing the definition of clusters, the... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Clusters; Development Economics; Performance; Framework; Knowledge Sharing; Policy

19 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Racist Umpires and Monetary Ministers

Evaluation, a paper published in 2011. “We know racism and sexism exist. The question is what can we do about it?” Parsons has made a habit of asking surprising questions about economic issues, looking at situations where small factors... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Information; Publishing

February 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

CalPERS Private Equity 2.0

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Alys Ferragamo

Yup Kim, the Head of Investments, Private Equity at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), reflected on the pension fund’s private equity strategy. In July of 2022, the fund was in the midst of a multi-year turnaround strategy with the goal to... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Retirement; Leadership; Strategy; Public Sector

2020
Working Paper

Of Learning and Forgetting: Centrism, Populism, and the Legitimacy Crisis of Globalization

By: Rawi Abdelal

Every order is a bargain with disappointments and trade-offs. Thus is every order an unstable equilibrium. The first era of globalization, circa 1870–1914, created both international prosperity and domestic instability. That instability was fully realized during the... View Details

Keywords: Centrism; Populism; Globalization; History; Balance and Stability; Economic Systems; Government and Politics; Learning

Research Summary

Spatial Agglomeration and Superstar Firms

By: Laura Alfaro

We characterize the agglomeration patterns of industries and plants in Europe, distinguishing Eurozone countries and the United States. Using a micro-level index, we quantify the degree of geographic concentration in industrial activities and explore how firm... View Details

February 2014
Teaching Note

Olympus (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Suraj Srinivasan

As 2012 approached the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in the... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Electronics Industry; Japan

December 2006 (Revised April 2014)
Case

J. R. D. Tata

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

J.R.D Tata, Chairman of the Indian conglomerate Tata & Sons, played a significant role in building India's economic infrastructure. Under his guidance, Tata & Sons built locomotives, steel refineries, airlines, chemical plants, and technology-based enterprises.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Development Economics; Working Conditions; Leadership; Infrastructure; Personal Development and Career; Business and Government Relations; India

March 2020
Article

A Revolution in Economics? It's Just Getting Started...

By: Shawn A. Cole, William Pariente and Anja Sautmann

We have each experienced thrills and pain while supporting the mission of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which facilitated many of the experiments described in the 2019 Nobel Prize citation. J-PAL in many ways seeks to fulfill what Angrist and Pischke... View Details

Keywords: Randomized Control Trials; Economics; Research; Innovation and Invention

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March 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Lada do Brasil

By: James E. Austin and Helen Shapiro

In an effort to capitalize on the entrepreneurial opportunity presented by the Brazilian government's trade liberalization, a Panamanian automobile trading company launched a business of importing the Russian made Lada cars into Brazil. The company confronts a complex... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Transformation; Economics; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Capital; Policy; Competition; Auto Industry; Brazil

02 Mar 2017
What Do You Think?

Is China About to Overtake the US for World Trade Leadership?

expose the banking system to free market forces We will have to see if Prime Minister Xi is prepared (to expose) China’s shadow banking and rumored zombie banks to such a discipline.” China should not be an economic enemy, Greg reminded... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2021
Working Paper

Getting Schooled: The Role of Universities in Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs

By: Natee Amornsiripanitch, Paul A. Gompers, George Hu and Kaushik Vasudevan

Immigrant founders of venture capital-backed companies have been critical to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We document the channels through which immigrant founders find their way to the United States and how those channels have changed over time. Immigrants have been... View Details

Keywords: Immigrants; Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; Higher Education; Immigration; Entrepreneurship

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01 Feb 2012
What Do You Think?

Is Support for Small Business Misplaced?

fact, large global companies to which jobs were formerly outsourced have begun setting up operations in the US and United Kingdom. Is it time to recognize the advantages of bigness when it comes to employment and economic development? If... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2010
Report

Vietnam Competitiveness Report 2010

By: Christian H.M. Ketels, Nguyen Dinh Cung, Nguyen Thi Tue Anh and Do Hong Hanh

The 2010 Vietnam Competitiveness Report contains a broad assessment of Vietnam's current competitiveness, an analysis of the key challenges and opportunities ahead, and a proposal for an economic strategy to enable Vietnam to reach a higher level of sustainable growth.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Labor; Industry Clusters; Performance Capacity; Performance Productivity; Competitive Strategy

Research Summary

Do Prices Determine Vertical Integration?*

By: Laura Alfaro

What is the relationship between product prices and vertical integration? While the literature has focused on how integration affects prices, this paper provides evidence that prices can affect integration. Many theories in organizational economics and industrial... View Details

July 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Media Markets Down South: Goldman Sachs' Investment in Grupo Clarín

By: Rafael Di Tella, Jose Liberti and Sarah McAra

Founded in 1945, Grupo Clarín expanded over several decades to become Argentina’s largest media conglomerate. With leading positions in newspapers, broadcast television, broadcast radio, cable television, and Internet services, Grupo Clarín caught the attention of... View Details

Keywords: Media; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Initial Public Offering; Investment; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Argentina

2014
Book

Consumer Lending in France and America: Credit and Welfare

By: Gunnar Trumbull

Why did America embrace consumer credit over the course of the twentieth century, when most other countries did not? How did American policy makers by the late twentieth century come to believe that more credit would make even poor families better off? This book traces... View Details

Keywords: Attitudes; Credit; France; United States

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2009
Working Paper

An Ounce of Prevention: The Power of Public Risk Management in Stabilizing the Financial System

By: David A. Moss

The magnitude of the current financial crisis reflects the failure of an economic and regulatory philosophy that had proved increasingly influential in policy circles over the past three decades.

This paper suggests (1) that contrary to the prevailing wisdom,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Institutions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk Management; Business and Government Relations; Balance and Stability