Publications

SSRN

Read Now

December 2014 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Governing the 'Chinese Dream': Corruption, Inequality and the Rule of Law

By: Rafael Di Tella, Meg Rithmire and Kait Szydlowski

Xi Jinping assumed his position as head of China's fifth generation of leaders in 2012. Xi was head of both the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, which had ruled China since 1949. Xi inherited a country far more unequal than the one that Mao... View Details

Keywords: China; Growth; Inequality; Wealth And Poverty; Social Stability; Perceptions Of Inequality; Chinese Dream; Chinese Political Thought; Corruption; Equality and Inequality; China

2011
Working Paper

The Power of Political Voice: Women's Political Representation and Crime in India

By: Lakshmi Iyer, Anandi Mani, Prachi Mishra and Petia Topalova

Using state-level variation in the timing of political reforms, we find that an increase in female representation in local government induces a large and significant rise in documented crimes against women in India. Our evidence suggests that this increase is good... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crime and Corruption; Local Range; Laws and Statutes; Law Enforcement; Gender; Power and Influence; Public Administration Industry; India

Read Now

June 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a U.S.–based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Funds; Economic Policy; Investments; Government Policy; Deregulation; Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

August 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Accounting for Political Risk at AES

By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Suraj Srinivasan

As a global energy generating company, AES frequently faces challenges from political changes and instability. This is exacerbated by the fact that in many instances AES' primary customer is the government, which is also in charge of law-making. For example, AES'... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Asset Impairment; Risk Factors; Fair Value; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Bulgaria; Dominican Republic; United States; Venezuela

15 Sep 2020
Working Paper Summaries

State and Local Government Employment in the COVID-19 Crisis

Keywords: by Daniel Green and Erik Loualiche

26 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Behind India’s Economic and Political Woes

has real microeconomic consequences causing consternation for companies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. Q:Do you think the Indian political climate has contributed to the current economic situation? A:... View Details

Keywords: by Zeenat Potia

January 2021
Article

State and Local Government Employment in the COVID-19 Crisis

By: Daniel Green and Erik Loualiche

Local governments are facing large losses in revenues and increased expenditures because of the COVID-19 crisis. We document a causal relationship between fiscal pressures induced by COVID-19 and the layoffs of state and local government workers. States that depend... View Details

Keywords: Local Government; Municipal Finance; Public Finance; Fiscal Capacity; Fiscal Policy; Governance; Local Range; Health Pandemics; Employment; Finance; Policy; Public Sector

Read Now

08 Dec 2017
News

Harvard Business Grads Are Putting Politics Above Profits

face,” Matt Segneri (MBA 2010) told the Wall Street Journal this week. Segneri, who directs the School’s Social Enterprise Initiative, said the number of HBS grads getting into politics has spiked recently View Details

Keywords: politics

04 Oct 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Corruption, Government Subsidies, and Innovation: Evidence from China

Keywords: by Lily Fang, Josh Lerner, Chaopeng Wu, and Qi Zhang

Apr 2021
Conference Presentation

Political Homophily and Acrophily

By: Amit Goldenberg and J. J. Gross

Article

Compassion, Religion, and Politics

By: Arthur C. Brooks

Find at Harvard

July–August 2021
Article

Surfacing the Submerged State: Operational Transparency Increases Trust in and Engagement with Government

By: Ryan W. Buell, Ethan Porter and Michael I. Norton

Problem definition: As trust in government reaches historic lows, frustration with government performance approaches record highs. Academic/practical relevance: We propose that in co-productive settings like government services, peoples’ trust and... View Details

Keywords: Government Services; Behavioral Operations; Operational Transparency; Government Administration; Service Operations; Programs; Perception; Attitudes; Behavior; Trust

March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Government Policy and Clean-Energy Finance

By: Ramana Nanda, Sanjay Aggarwal and Nilam Ganenthiran

What leads to market failures in finance of clean energy startups? How do different governments approach this issue? View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Finance; Policy; Energy Industry

January 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Huawei: Resilience amid Autarky and Adversity

By: William C. Kirby and Daniel Fu

In September 2023, Huawei made a dramatic return to the global smartphone space with the launch of its Mate 60 Pro smartphone, equipped with an indigenously designed, 7nm chip. This came despite a myriad of export controls and restrictions imposed against the company... View Details