Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(618)
- Faculty Publications (88)
- Article
Do Strong Fences Make Strong Neighbors?
By: Mihir Desai and Dhammika Dharmapala
Many features of U.S. tax policy towards multinational firms-including the governing principle of capital export neutrality, the byzantine system of expense allocation, and anti-inversion legislation-reflect the intuition that building "strong fences" around the United... View Details
- April 2010 (Revised January 2013)
- Case
California's Budget Crises, Tax Reform, and Domestic and International Tax Competition
By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Jacob Kuipers
How do (and how should) governments design fiscal policies to compete in a globalized economy while meeting internal policy priorities including redistribution? In 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger repeatedly declared fiscal emergencies as California's state budget... View Details
- 2010
- Working Paper
Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors
By: Rebecca Henderson and Richard G. Newell
A combination of concerns about climate change and energy security has recently led to significant increases in public funding for energy R&D. Some commentators are suggesting that these increases need to be sustained, and are advocating for increases of as much as... View Details
- February 2010
- Article
The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution
By: N. Gregory Mankiw and Matthew C. Weinzierl
Should the income tax include a credit for short taxpayers and a surcharge for tall ones? The standard Utilitarian framework for tax analysis answers this question in the affirmative. Moreover, a plausible parameterization using data on height and wages implies a... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Labor Regulations and European Private Equity
By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr
European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Labor Regulations and European Private Equity
By: Ant Bozkaya and William R. Kerr
European nations substitute between employment protection regulations and labor market expenditures (e.g., unemployment insurance benefits) for providing worker insurance. Employment regulations more directly tax firms making frequent labor adjustments than other labor... View Details
- Article
Optimal Taxation in Theory and Practice
By: N. Gregory Mankiw, Matthew C. Weinzierl and Danny Yagan
We highlight and explain eight lessons from optimal tax theory and compare them to the last few decades of OECD tax policy. As recommended by theory, top marginal income tax rates have declined, marginal income tax schedules have flattened, redistribution has risen... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: The Unintended Consequences of the Homeland Investment Act
By: Dhammika Dharmapala, C. Fritz Foley and Kristin J. Forbes
This paper analyzes the impact on firm behavior of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, which provided a one-time tax holiday for the repatriation of foreign earnings by U.S. multinationals. The analysis controls for endogeneity and omitted variable bias by using... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Securing Jobs or the New Protectionism?: Taxing the Overseas Activities of Multinational Firms
By: Mihir A. Desai
Tax policy toward American multinational firms would appear to be approaching a crossroads. The presumed linkages between domestic employment conditions and the growth of foreign operations by American firms have led to calls for increased taxation on foreign... View Details
- January 2009 (Revised October 2011)
- Case
Barack Obama and the Bush Tax Cuts (A)
By: Matthew C. Weinzierl and Eric D. Werker
As his inauguration approached, President-elect Obama faced a financial sector meltdown, a costly bailout, and massive government deficits. With the economy in recession, interest rates near zero, and joblessness on the rise, Obama needed to decide whether, and how... View Details
- 2008
- Working Paper
Investable Tax Credits: The Case of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit
By: Mihir A. Desai, Dhammika Dharmapala and Monica Singhal
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) represents a novel tax expenditure program that employs "investable" tax credits to spur production of low-income rental housing. While it has grown into the largest source of new affordable housing in the U.S. and its... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
Entrepreneurship and Urban Success: Toward a Policy Consensus
By: Zoltan J. Acs, Edward L. Glaeser, Robert E. Litan, Lee Fleming, Stephan J. Goetz, William R. Kerr, Steven Klepper, Stuart S. Rosenthal, Olav Sorenson and William C. Strange
Like all politics, all entrepreneurship is local. Individuals launch firms and, if successful, expand their enterprises to other locations. But new firms must start somewhere, even if their businesses are conducted largely or exclusively on the Internet. Likewise,... View Details
- October 2007
- Teaching Note
Rovna Dan: The Flat Tax in Slovakia (TN)
By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Renee Kim
Teaching Note to 707043. View Details
- March 2007 (Revised March 2010)
- Case
Rovna Dan: The Flat Tax in Slovakia
By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella, Ane Damgaard Jensen and Vincent Marie Dessain
Explores the tax policy choices made by Slovakia and the impact of reforms. Set in 2006, looks at the decision facing new Prime Minister Robert Fico as he faces the public's "reform fatigue." Traces the development of tax and fiscal policies since Slovakia's... View Details
Keywords: Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Taxation; Labor; Welfare; Slovakia
- December 2004
- Article
Old Rules and New Realities: Corporate Tax Policy in a Global Setting
By: Mihir A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr.
- February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
- Case
Fuel Cells: The Hydrogen Revolution?
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis
The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers... View Details
- August 2002 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Italy: A New Commitment to Growth
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Rebecca Evans
Examines Italy's efforts to comply with the Maastricht Treaty and become integrated with Europe in the European Union. By 2002, Italy has achieved macroeconomic stability, but slow growth threatens the country's future competitiveness. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi... View Details
- January 2001 (Revised March 2002)
- Case
Ford Motor Company's Value Enhancement Plan
By: Andre F. Perold
In April 2000, Ford Motor Co. announced a shareholder Value Enhancement Plan (VEP) to significantly recapitalize the firm's ownership structure. Ford had accumulated $23 billion in cash reserves and under the VEP would return as much as $10 billion of this cash to... View Details