Publications

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

philanthropy. Conducting Business Experimentation Professor Benjamin Roth + More Info - Slides – Less Info - Slides This interactive lecture will introduce the tools of randomized experimentation (A/B tests,... View Details

24 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 24, 2009

not only experience project-level success with the implementation of new work practices, but also organizational-level success as indicated by overall measures of performance. We tested our hypothesis in a longitudinal study of 23... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2024
Working Paper

Intrinsic Motivation and Referrals Within Firms: Evidence from a Large Microfinance Institution

By: Natalia Rigol and Benjamin N. Roth

Many organizations rely on internal referrals between employees with differing comparative advantages. Yet when an employee encounters a lucrative opportunity, they may be motivated to retain it even when doing so harms efficiency. We develop a framework that... View Details

Keywords: Loan Officers; Strategic Behavior; Strategic Disclosure; Microfinance; Financial Institutions; Financing and Loans

March 2022
Article

Contractual Restrictions and Debt Traps

By: Ernest Liu and Benjamin N. Roth

Microcredit and other forms of small-scale ﬁnance have failed to catalyze entrepreneurship in developing countries. In these credit markets, borrowers and lenders often bargain over not only the interest rate but also implicit restrictions on types of investment. We... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Entrepreneurship; Developing Countries and Economies; Financing and Loans

Find at Harvard

November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Husk Power: Scaling the Venture

By: Benjamin N. Roth and Natalia Rigol

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 819-069. View Details

March 2022
Article

Targeting High Ability Entrepreneurs Using Community Information: Mechanism Design in the Field

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Natalia Rigol and Benjamin N. Roth

Identifying high-growth microentrepreneurs in low-income countries remains a challenge due to a scarcity of verifiable information. With a cash grant experiment in India we demonstrate that community knowledge can help target high-growth microentrepreneurs; while the... View Details

Keywords: Microentrepreneurs; Community Information; Field Experiment; Loans; Entrepreneurship; Developing Countries and Economies; Financing and Loans; Information; Mathematical Methods; India

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2016
Working Paper

Paying for the Truth: The Efficacy of a Peer Prediction Mechanism in the Field

By: Natalia Rigol and Benjamin N. Roth

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

to meet or beat key benchmarks. This paper examines this hypothesis by testing how different types of marketing expenditures are used to boost earnings for a durable commodity consumer product, which can be easily stockpiled View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Jul 2016
Blog Post

Why I’m Not Changing Careers after Business School

employee and a better person for having had the experience here. As Eric Roth wrote in his screenplay for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, “It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything... View Details

01 Mar 2023
News

The Exchange: Micro Management

Image by John Ritter In the 50 years since modern microfinance was introduced as a tool to fight poverty, institutions have distributed hundreds of millions of loans to people in developing countries. Such loans are repaid at rates often... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

May 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Teaching Note

Independent Governance of Meta’s Social Spaces: The Oversight Board

By: Jesse M. Shapiro, Natalia Rigol and Benjamin N. Roth

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 823-111. View Details

15 Jan 2015
News

Asia Alumni Connect Around a ‘Vision’ for the New HBS

classmates and meet other alumni in the region, as well as with HBS faculty members and administrators. The evening featured remarks by Dean Nitin Nohria, Professor Shawn A. Cole, Honorary Chair Ratan N.... View Details

September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Technical Note

Impact Investment, Catalytic Capital and Blended Finance

By: Tarun Khanna, Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth and Brian Trelstad

Educators

January 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Teaching Note

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 821-073. View Details