Middle Class - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Feb 2016
Op-Ed

The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills

market, such as retail, health care, and construction—that is, jobs insulated from global competition. Those changes have broken the back of America’s middle class in two ways. First, both trends put... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman; Manufacturing; Electronics

02 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Government and Financial Tech Can Fix Cash Woes for Small Businesses

products and services. Making the payrolls that support middle class families across the country. These are all things we rely on small businesses for, so we should look with more than just casual interest... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Setting the Stage: A Young Scholar at HBS

consider the extent to which the evolution of these financial services have shaped personal opportunities and lifecycle planning—from the attainment of education during youth, to homeownership during middle age, to retirement savings... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard; Banking; Financial Services

28 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

A Dedication to Creation: India's Ad Man Ranjan Kapur

with the opening of the economy in the 1990s. Two things happened. All these global companies came back, which helped the advertising industry. And the economy grew, which meant the middle class grew... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising

03 Jan 2018
What Do You Think?

In the Wake of #MeToo, Should Corporate Boards Hire Compliance Officers?

SUMMING UP Would More Women in Leadership Help Mitigate #MeToo Concerns? If a good case study is one that splits a class down the middle on an important issue while surfacing creative responses, this month's... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Shabana Azmi: Leveraging Bollywood Fame into Social Good

think? Deshpandé: She made an impact on her industry in terms of being able to be successful in both parallel and mainstream cinema. These are two different audiences, an upper middle class intelligentsia... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Motion Pictures & Video

17 Feb 2015
HBS Case

HBS Cases: The Battle for San Francisco

School. "There is this real squeeze on certain parts of the community—housing prices are out of sight, the middle class is leaving, and homelessness is a serious problem. This is in the face of great... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology

27 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on 2010’s Biggest Business Developments

networks is to middle managers, who may become obsolete when layers of managers are no longer needed to convey messages up and down the organization.” A year ago many people poked fun at Facebook as a place where kids shared their latest... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

30 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

All Eyes on Slovakia’s Flat Tax

regardless of income is simply not possible. Most certainly, the elimination of deductions and exemptions—such as mortgages, etc.—is a battle many politicians will not want to take on in the near future. Also, the argument that a flat tax is likely to be paid by the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

18 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Who Controls Water?

"Farmers would probably have a price of water that would be significantly higher than it is right now so they probably would not plant thirsty crops," remarked one student. "The market would sort out the farmers and the environmentalists somewhere in the... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Agriculture & Agribusiness

05 Feb 2009
What Do You Think?

Why Can’t We Figure Out How to Select Leaders?

any other factor, including class size and quality of the facilities. In various studies, the truly great teachers do things like giving good, individualized feedback while remaining sensitive and responding to interactions going on... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

12 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

The New Real Estate

where you sometimes see more camel and donkey carts (now there's green energy!) than autos parked outside. India's 300-million-strong middle class is hungering for consumer goods and decent homes. Despite... View Details

Keywords: by Arthur I. Segel; Construction; Real Estate

04 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

The Business of Global Poverty

BOP," Kash Rangan says. "Yes, economies, and with them, the middle classes in emerging countries, have grown. But inequality within countries has also grown. Globalization has not really hurt those... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

22 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

The COVID-19 Mutiny: When Teams Leave and Take Their Clients

Jones Industrial Average soared amid a “bonkers” real estate market. Professionals have been looking around, and recruiters have data and stories to grab even the most contented employee’s attention. "You could have a two-hour meeting in the View Details

Keywords: by Robin Abrahams, Boris Groysberg, and Steven L. Manchel

10 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 10, 2017

“Who are the world’s best negotiators? What makes them effective?” Inevitably Henry Kissinger’s name comes up as an elite, if controversial, negotiator from whom we can learn a great deal. At a time of rancorous divisions in American society, he helped to forge... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

of consumers are more than willing to pay for convenience. Second, the bifurcation of income in the US will accelerate and lead to an even greater need for supermarkets to provide value. Supermarkets have long relied on a high-volume, low-margin model, and the large,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

14 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Getting Down to the Business of Creativity

explores the emergence of "air taxis," a novel service based on a new class of light, economical jet aircraft that have come on the market recently. "The economics are such that entrepreneurs believe you can have an... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Entertainment & Recreation

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

examine a class of dynamic decision-making processes that involve endogenous commitment. Our analysis is relevant to group decision-making settings as well as to hierarchical decision-making settings in which, for example, subordinates... View Details