Publications

2017
Working Paper

Voter Mobilization and Trust in Electoral Institutions: Evidence from Kenya

By: Benjamin Marx, Vincent Pons and Tavneet Suri

Voter mobilization campaigns face trade-offs in young democracies. In a large-scale experiment implemented in 2013 with the Kenyan Electoral Commission (IEBC), text messages intended to mobilize voters boosted participation but also decreased trust in electoral... View Details

Keywords: Political Participation; Electoral Institutions; Field Experiment; Voting; Political Elections; Behavior; Trust; Kenya

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21 Mar 2023
HBS Seminar

Stefan Dimitriadis, University of Toronto Rotman School of Management

August 2021
Article

Voter Mobilization and Trust in Electoral Institutions: Evidence from Kenya

By: Benjamin Marx, Vincent Pons and Tavneet Suri

Voter mobilization campaigns face trade-offs in young democracies. In a large-scale experiment implemented in 2013 with the Kenyan Electoral Commission (IEBC), text messages intended to mobilize voters boosted participation but also decreased trust in electoral... View Details

Keywords: Political Participation; Electoral Institutions; Field Experiment; Voting; Political Elections; Behavior; Trust

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01 May 2017
News

What Do Syrians Want Their Future to Be?

16 Oct 2017
News

Gun waiting periods could save hundreds of lives a year, study says

06 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

High Hills, Deep Poverty: Explaining Civil War in Nepal

descent into violence. For Nepal, these factors for study included poverty, social and language diversity, and even geographical conditions. What Iyer and Do found: poverty trumps all, yet in a complex, nuanced way. As Nepal's conflict developed, the intensity of View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Working Paper

The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa

By: Stelios Michalopoulos and Elias Papaioannou

We examine the long-run consequences of a neglected aspect of colonization, the artificial drawing of borders during the Scramble for Africa and uncover the following empirical regularities. First, apart from the land mass and water area, no other pre-colonial trait... View Details

Keywords: Africa; Conflict; Development; Ethnicity; War; Development Economics; Geography; Africa

January 2018
Case

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Quits President Trump's Advisory Council

By: Andy Zelleke and Brian Tilley

In the first six months of Donald Trump’s presidency, Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier appeared alongside Trump at least three times at press events, one of which commemorated the first and only meeting of the president’s Manufacturing Job Initiative (better known at the... View Details

Keywords: CEO Role; Politics; Corporate Governance; Moral Sensibility; Managerial Roles; United States

January 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

The Basque Country: Strategy for Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter, Christian H.M. Ketels and Jesus M. Valdaliso

The Basque country, with a population of 2.1 million and covering 7,233 square kilometers, is an autonomous region located in the north of Spain, physically separated from it by the Pyrenees Mountains. Presents the history of the region—highly prosperous at the turn of... View Details

Keywords: History; Crime and Corruption; Industry Clusters; Competitive Strategy; Microeconomics; Developing Countries and Economies; Government and Politics; Basque Provinces; Spain

April 2020 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Medellín Reborn (A)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

In 2003, mathematics professor Sergio Fajardo was elected mayor of Medellín, Colombia—one of the most violent cities in the world at that time. As mayor, Fajardo faced a host of daunting challenges. Rampant gang violence had raised Medellín’s homicide rate... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Leadership; Peace; Government; Politics; Priorities; Leadership; City; Strategy; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Government Administration; Crime and Corruption; Colombia; Medellín

2012
Working Paper

Mexico's Financial Crisis of 1994-1995

By: Aldo Musacchio

This paper explains the causes leading to the Mexican crisis of 1994-1995 (known as "The Tequila Crisis"), and its short- and long-term consequences. It argues that excessive enthusiasm on the part of foreign investors, not based on Mexico's fundamentals, and weak... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Foreign Direct Investment; Banks and Banking; Government and Politics; Currency Exchange Rate; Banking Industry; Mexico

April 2019 (Revised October 2021)
Case

The Rohingya Refugee: Past, Genocide, Future

By: Reshmaan N. Hussam

In August 2017, the Myanmar military commenced a brutal pogrom of the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State, Myanmar. The genocidal campaign marked the most recent and decisive of a series of ethnic cleansing efforts fueled by contention around race, religion, and... View Details

Keywords: War; Ethnicity; Race; Religion; Identity; Change; Resource Allocation; Social Issues; Myanmar; Africa; Bangladesh

Article

The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers' Perceptions of Sharks

By: Andy Nosal, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Philip A. Hastings and Ayelet Gneezy

Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation. These negative attitudes arise from an instinctive yet exaggerated fear, which is validated and reinforced... View Details

Keywords: Natural Environment; Prejudice and Bias; Marketing; Attitudes; Music Entertainment

2010
Article

Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal

By: Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; War; Poverty; Geography; Conflict and Resolution; Government and Politics; Economics; Nepal

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November 2019
Case

Edita: Making Choices in Uncertain Times

By: Caroline M. Elkins, Juan Alcácer, Alpana Thapar and Youssef Abdel Aal

After 15 years of steady growth and expansion, Edita, a leading Egyptian snack producer, faced a series of challenges in the wake of the Arab Spring. In January 2011, the Egyptian Revolution sparked political and economic turmoil that reflected the waves of protest and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Developing Countries and Economies; Economy; Business or Company Management; Price; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Strategy; Expansion; Currency; Food and Beverage Industry; Egypt; Africa; Middle East

2007
Working Paper

Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal

By: Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; War; Poverty; Nepal

2022
Working Paper

Hate Crime Increases with Minoritized Group Rank

By: Marco E. Tabellini

People are on the move in unprecedented numbers within and between countries. How does demographic change affect local intergroup dynamics? In complement to accounts that emphasize stereotypical features of groups as determinants of their treatment, we propose the... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice; Minority; Hate Crimes; Reference Dependence; Demographics; Rank and Position; Prejudice and Bias; Crime and Corruption

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