Publications

October 2012
Case

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

A small, publicly traded company specializing in non-hazardous waste management considers a major acquisition in the Midwestern U.S. The acquisition can provide entry into the region, help the firm compete in a competitive industry, and improve its cost position. The... View Details

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Expansion; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry

January 2008
Background Note

Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs)

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

This lesson integrated Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims with the CAPM, which allows us to examine the risks and pricing of credit portfolios and the derivative claims issued against them. In particular, this model is used to make... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management

December 1986 (Revised October 1987)
Case

Mexican Debt and Agricultural Policy

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Agribusiness; Policy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Mexico

Find at Harvard

April 1997 (Revised February 2001)
Case

Mexico in Debt

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Eilene Zimmerman

Describes Mexico's political and economic system in the 1960s and 1970s. Focuses on: 1) the causes of the debt crisis in 1982; 2) elements of President de la Madrid's restructuring efforts between 1982-88; President Salinas's attempts to complete restructuring and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Economic Systems; Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Borrowing and Debt; Government and Politics; Mexico

1996
Working Paper

Debt Overhang and Financial Slack

By: André Perold and Kuljot Singh

July 25, 2011
Blog Post

Social Security and Debt Ceiling

By: Robert C. Pozen

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Borrowing and Debt

15 Apr 2024
News

Corporate Debt and Financial Crises

22 Dec 2010
News

Debt and the Future of the U.S.

2005
Working Paper

Debt Maturity: Is Long-Term Debt Optimal?

By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

Read Now

31 Oct 2016
News

Lending Over Backwards: How Does Borrowing Money Hurt Relationships?

30 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Lessons Unlearned? Corporate Debt in Emerging Markets

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Gonzalo Asis, Anusha Chari, and Ugo Panizza; Banking

Second Chance: Life Without Student Debt

Rising student debt is considered one of the creeping threats of our time. This paper examines the effect of student debt relief on individual credit and labor View Details

February 2016
Case

Debt and Democracy: The New York Constitutional Convention of 1846

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

On September 23, 1846, delegates to New York State's constitutional convention prepared to vote on a proposal that its principal proponent, Michael Hoffman, conceded would be “a serious change in our form of government.” The proposal would place tight restrictions on... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Governance; Laws and Statutes; Government and Politics; History; New York (state, US)