Publications

2012
Book

The Rise of the Modern Firm

By: Geoffrey Jones and Walter A. Friedman

This authoritative volume focuses on the rise of modern firms, from their early history to the present day. It considers the role of laws and contracts in shaping the growth and influence of business enterprises. It presents entrepreneurs, executives and the firms they... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Economy; Business History; Archives; Contracts; Theory

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2016
Book

Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance in Emerging Markets

By: Lakshmi Iyer

Emerging markets play an increasingly important role in the global economy, accounting for 31% of global GDP and more than 50% of global foreign direct investment in 2012. However, doing business in emerging markets remains subject to a high degree of "policy risk,"... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Economic Policy; Political Economy; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations

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May 2014
Article

Digital Dark Matter and the Economic Contribution of Apache

By: Shane Greenstein and Frank Nagle

Researchers have long hypothesized that research outputs from government, university, and private company R&D contribute to economic growth, but these contributions may be difficult to measure when they take a non-pecuniary form. The growth of networking devices and... View Details

Keywords: Open Source; Apache; Economic Measurement; Digital Economics; Measurement and Metrics; Open Source Distribution; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Economic Growth; Research and Development; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

June 2013 (Revised June 2013)
Teaching Note

Brazil's Enigma: Sustaining Long-Term Growth & Currency Wars

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

Over the past decade, Brazil's future as a leading world economic power appeared certain. An expanding middle class and commodity boom had fueled economic growth, with GDP growth hitting a peak of 7.5% in 2010. However, the high cost of conducting business in Brazil,... View Details

May 2022
Supplement

Third Point in 2020: Growth Is Where the Value Is? (B)

By: Robin Greenwood and Denise Han

In early May 2020, Daniel Loeb’s team at Third Point was evaluating a potential growth opportunity in the Walt Disney Company and whether investor activism might play a role. Battered by the effects of COVID-19, the company’s stock had initially tumbled to $86 and then... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Equity; Disney; Value; Economics; Finance; Investment; Strategy; Management; Investment Activism; Investment Return; Growth and Development; North America

2015
Working Paper

Competitiveness and Clusters: Implications for a New European Growth Strategy

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

This paper develops policy recommendations on the use of cluster-based economic policies and the adoption of a new concept of competitiveness in the context of the new growth path that WWWforEurope aims to outline.
A first section discusses and derives an... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Clusters; Economic Policy; European Union; Competition; Industry Clusters; Policy; Economic Growth; European Union

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June 2024
Article

Real Growth in Space Manufacturing Output Substantially Exceeds Growth in the Overall Space Economy

By: Tina Highfill and Matthew Weinzierl

Accurately measuring real economic output in the space economy is made difficult by the rapid increase in capabilities and decrease in prices of launch and satellite technologies achieved over the past two decades. Nominal measures of output in space will tend to... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Economic Growth; Price; Production; Aerospace Industry

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May 2024
Case

SofMedica Group: Managing Growth

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

SofMedica Group had expanded from its origins as a medical equipment distributor in Romania to a holding company with four business lines operating in six countries. This expansion had been driven by SofMedica’s mission: to make cutting edge medical technology... View Details

2010
Working Paper

Growth through Heterogeneous Innovations

By: Ufuk Akcigit and William R. Kerr

We study how exploration versus exploitation innovations impact economic growth through a tractable endogenous growth framework that contains multiple innovation sizes, multi-product firms, and entry/exit. Firms invest in exploration R&D to acquire new product lines... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Decision Choices and Conditions; Economic Growth; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Size; Research and Development; United States

January 2021
Article

Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times

By: Philippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

What is the optimal form of firm organization during “bad times”? We present a model of delegation within the firm to show that the effect is ambiguous. The greater turbulence following macro shocks may benefit decentralized firms because the value of local information... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Growth; Turbulence; Great Recession; Organizational Design; System Shocks; Economic Growth; Performance

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May 2022 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Third Point in 2020: Growth Is Where the Value Is?

By: Robin Greenwood, James Williams and Denise Han

In early May 2020, Daniel Loeb’s team at Third Point was evaluating a potential growth opportunity in the Walt Disney Company and whether investor activism might play a role. Battered by the effects of COVID-19, the company’s stock had initially tumbled to $86 and then... View Details

Keywords: Growth; Equity; Disney; Value; COVID-19 Pandemic; Economics; Strategy; Growth and Development; Investment Return; Opportunities; Business and Stakeholder Relations; North America

27 Dec 2019
News

Harvard Business School study: Structural issues in politics are impeding economic growth

2015
Chapter

Innovation and Business Growth

By: William R. Kerr

Innovation and the pursuit of new business opportunities are essential for growth at the firm level; moreover, they provide the foundation for an economy to achieve new levels of technological prowess, productivity, and ultimately prosperity. This chapter describes... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Economic Growth; Innovation and Invention

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March 2014
Case

Inequality and Growth in the 'Chinese Dream'

By: Rafael Di Tella, Meg Rithmire and Kaitlyn 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