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- All HBS Web (328)
- Faculty Publications (94)
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- 03 Oct 2023
- HBS Case
Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff
The pattern has become painfully predictable in recent years: As the economy shows signs of a slowdown, companies hand out layoff notices to stabilize profitability and calm investor fears. That cycle seems to be in place in the... View Details
- June 2002 (Revised June 2014)
- Case
The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking?
By: Huw Pill, Marie-Laure Y Goepfer, Mathijs Robbens and Ingrid Vogel
The Netherlands suffered economic crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, despite (or perhaps because of) its access to North Sea gas. In response to mounting inflation and unemployment, a tripartite agreement between employers, unions, and government was reached in... View Details
Pill, Huw, Marie-Laure Y Goepfer, Mathijs Robbens, and Ingrid Vogel. "The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking?" Harvard Business School Case 702-051, June 2002. (Revised June 2014.)
- April 2017 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Restructuring Ukraine
By: Kristin Mugford, Seema Amble and Tian Feng
In June 2015, Ukraine found itself struggling with a volatile and devalued currency, dramatically diminished foreign reserves, and a projected financing shortfall of $40 billion. Ukraine’s new government sought to return the nation to stability following political... View Details
Keywords: Exchange Rates; Politics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Restructuring; Economy; Currency Exchange Rate; Banks and Banking; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Bonds; Sovereign Finance; Capital Markets; Credit; Debt Securities; Financial Liquidity; Financial Markets; Government and Politics; Ukraine
Mugford, Kristin, Seema Amble, and Tian Feng. "Restructuring Ukraine." Harvard Business School Case 217-049, April 2017. (Revised February 2020.)
- June 2019
- Article
Social Risk, Fiscal Risk, and the Portfolio of Government Programs
We develop a model of government portfolio choice in which a benevolent government chooses the scale of risky projects in the presence of market failures and tax distortions. These two frictions generate motives to manage social risk and fiscal risk. Social risk... View Details
Hanson, Samuel G., David S. Scharfstein, and Adi Sunderam. "Social Risk, Fiscal Risk, and the Portfolio of Government Programs." Review of Financial Studies 32, no. 6 (June 2019): 2341–2382. (Internet Appendix Here.)
- March 2010 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
Chile's Copper Surplus: The Road Not Taken (A)
By: Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini and Renee Kim
In 2008, Andres Velasco, Chile's Finance Minister, was under mounting criticisms over his fiscal policy. As the world's largest copper producer, Chile was benefiting from the rise in copper prices, which had more than tripled since 2003. Copper revenues translated into... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Metals and Minerals; Investment Funds; Policy; State Ownership; Wealth; Chile
Alfaro, Laura, Dante Roscini, and Renee Kim. "Chile's Copper Surplus: The Road Not Taken (A)." Harvard Business School Case 710-019, March 2010. (Revised May 2013.)
- November 2018 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
Rebuilding Puerto Rico
By: Laura Alfaro, Laura Phillips Sawyer and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept over Puerto Rico, devastating the island’s infrastructure and agriculture. The natural disaster was layered atop years of mounting financial distress. Before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had accumulated $74 billion in debt and... View Details
Keywords: Natural Disasters; Financial Crisis; Infrastructure; Borrowing and Debt; Economy; Strategic Planning; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Puerto Rico
Alfaro, Laura, Laura Phillips Sawyer, and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason. "Rebuilding Puerto Rico." Harvard Business School Case 719-018, November 2018. (Revised October 2019.)
- 2022
- Article
Sea Level Rise and Pacific Small Island Developing States: Implications and Pathways
By: Srimayi Tenali
Sea level rise poses severe consequences for the economic stability, habitability, and existence of Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Recent legal developments have offered conflicting interpretations of the 1982 'UN Law of the Sea Convention', but under... View Details
Tenali, Srimayi. "Sea Level Rise and Pacific Small Island Developing States: Implications and Pathways." Environment and Planning Law Journal 38, no. 5 (2022): 468–481.
- October 2014 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
A Currency We Can Call Our Own: Populism, Banking Crises, and Exchange Rate Crises in Argentina, 1946–2002
By: Rafael Di Tella
The case describes Argentina's struggle to establish a credible monetary system under populist pressures and the recurrent use of exchange rate stabilization plans. It focuses on two episodes where there was "too little money" in the economy: during the hyperinflation... View Details
Keywords: Debt Crisis; Hyperinflation; Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Argentina
Di Tella, Rafael. "A Currency We Can Call Our Own: Populism, Banking Crises, and Exchange Rate Crises in Argentina, 1946–2002." Harvard Business School Case 715-019, October 2014. (Revised February 2017.)
- 2024
- Other Unpublished Work
A Proposal for the IMF: A New Instrument of International Liquidity Provision for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies
By: Laura Alfaro, Guillermo Calvo, José de Gregorio, Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Guidotti, Enrique Mendoza, Ernesto Talvi, Liliana Rojas-Suarez and Andrés Velasco
This paper addresses a critical flaw in the international financial system: the failure to address the inherent asymmetry between countries that issue reserve currencies and those that do not, leaving the latter vulnerable during systemic liquidity crises. We propose... View Details
Keywords: Macroeconomics; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; International Finance; Developing Countries and Economies; Latin America
Alfaro, Laura, Guillermo Calvo, José de Gregorio, Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Guidotti, Enrique Mendoza, Ernesto Talvi, Liliana Rojas-Suarez, and Andrés Velasco. "A Proposal for the IMF: A New Instrument of International Liquidity Provision for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies." Comité Latinoamericano de Asuntos Financieros (CLAAF) Statement, 345, October 2024.
- 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
Di Tella, Rafael, Jose Liberti, and Sarah McAra. "Media Markets Down South: Goldman Sachs' Investment in Grupo Clarín." Harvard Business School Case 718-007, July 2017. (Revised November 2017.)
- 2020
- Discussion Paper
Acting Now While Preparing for Tomorrow: Competitiveness Upgrading Under the Shadow of COVID-19
By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Peter Clinch
This paper aims to provide policy makers, especially those focused on the longer-term growth potential
of their countries, with an initial framework to think about their action priorities in the context of the
overall COVID-19 response. Our focus is on the... View Details
Keywords: Competitiveness; COVID-19 Pandemic; Competition; Government Administration; Health Pandemics; Economy; Supply Chain; Safety
Ketels, Christian H.M., and Peter Clinch. "Acting Now While Preparing for Tomorrow: Competitiveness Upgrading Under the Shadow of COVID-19." Discussion Paper, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, Boston, MA, US, 2020.
- March 2001 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Power to the States: "Fiscal Wars" for FDI in Brazil
By: Laura Alfaro, Yasheng Huang and Marios S. Kalochoritis
On January 6, 1999, Itamar Franco, the governor of the state of Minas Gerais, the second-largest state in Brazil, declared a 90-day moratorium on its debt payment to the federal government. The announcement triggered a run on the Brazilian currency, the Real, and... View Details
Alfaro, Laura, Yasheng Huang, and Marios S. Kalochoritis. Power to the States: "Fiscal Wars" for FDI in Brazil. Harvard Business School Case 701-079, March 2001. (Revised February 2004.)
- October 2018 (Revised January 2019)
- Case
The Financial Crisis: Hank Paulson in 2008
On the afternoon of Monday October 13, 2008, Hank Paulson Jr., the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, walked into the large conference room across the hall from his office in the Treasury Department. Joining him were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke,... View Details
Keywords: Bailout; Regulation; Financial Crisis; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States
Sunderam, Adi, Robin Greenwood, Sam Hanson, and David Scharfstein. "The Financial Crisis: Hank Paulson in 2008." Harvard Business School Case 219-037, October 2018. (Revised January 2019.)
- 25 Jan 2010
- Research & Ideas
A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy
GDP growth, exchange rates, the stability of the financial system, and so on. In more normal economic times, he would likely focus mainly on maintaining a low and stable rate of inflation—perhaps around 2... View Details
Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne
- 2023
- Working Paper
Sovereign Default and the Decline in Interest Rates
By: Max Miller, James Paron and Jessica Wachter
Sovereign debt yields have declined dramatically over the last half-century. Standard explanations, including aging populations and increases in asset demand from abroad, encounter difficulties when confronted with the full range of evidence. We propose an explanation... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
Bias in Official Fiscal Forecasts: Can Private Forecasts Help?
By: Jeffrey A. Frankel and Jesse Schreger
Government forecasts of GDP growth and budget balances are generally more over optimistic than private sector forecasts. When official forecasts are especially optimistic relative to private forecasts ex ante, they are more likely also to be over optimistic relative to... View Details
Frankel, Jeffrey A., and Jesse Schreger. "Bias in Official Fiscal Forecasts: Can Private Forecasts Help?" NBER Working Paper Series, No. 22349, June 2016.
- Forthcoming
- Article
The Evolution of Financial Services in the United States
By: Robin Greenwood, Robert Ialenti and David Scharfstein
This article surveys the literature on the historical growth and transformation of the U.S. financial sector. The sector expanded rapidly between 1980 until 2006, when its contribution to GDP rose from 4.8% to 7.6%. After the Global Financial Crisis, the size of the... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Growth and Development; Economic Sectors
Greenwood, Robin, Robert Ialenti, and David Scharfstein. "The Evolution of Financial Services in the United States." Annual Review of Financial Economics (forthcoming).
- 2016
- Working Paper
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Modern Administrative State, 1912–1925: Trade Associations, Codes of Fair Competition, and State Building
By: Laura Phillips Sawyer
From its founding in 1912 through the interwar years, the Chamber's history shows a persistent preoccupation with progressive economics and policy-making. Rather than flouting the new ideas of institutional economics, which favored federal regulators overseeing data... View Details
Phillips Sawyer, Laura. "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Modern Administrative State, 1912–1925: Trade Associations, Codes of Fair Competition, and State Building." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-085, February 2016.
- 2018
- Working Paper
Two Hundred Years of Health and Medical Care: The Importance of Medical Care for Life Expectancy Gains
By: Maryaline Catillon, David Cutler and Thomas Getzen
Using two hundred years of national and Massachusetts data on medical care and health, we examine how central medical care is to life expectancy gains. While common theories about medical care cost growth stress growing demand, our analysis highlights the importance of... View Details
Keywords: Mortality; Life Expectancy; Medical Care; Productivity; Public Health; Healthcare Spending; Spending Per Year Of Life Gained; Personal Medicine; Technophysio Evolution; Health; Economics; Health Care and Treatment; Spending; Data and Data Sets; Health Industry
Catillon, Maryaline, David Cutler, and Thomas Getzen. "Two Hundred Years of Health and Medical Care: The Importance of Medical Care for Life Expectancy Gains." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 25330, December 2018.
- 08 Oct 2014
- Working Paper Summaries