Publications

Educators

2010
Chapter

Breakthrough Inventions and the Growth of Innovation Clusters

By: William R. Kerr

This report provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in promoting economic and social development. It examines the impact of innovation on the economic growth of developing countries and the future role of technological innovation in international... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Developing Countries and Economies; Society; Growth and Development; Climate Change; Social Issues; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations

January 2007
Case

Robert E. Rubin (A)

By: Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison

Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Managerial Roles; Macroeconomics; Organizational Design; Economy

Research Summary

Railroads and the Making of Modern China

My current book project is entitled Railroads and the Making of the Modern China and explores China’s economic and socio-political transformation from the last decades of the empire to the present using railroad infrastructure as a focus. Based on a large... View Details

2012
Book

The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economy

In 1776 the United States government started out on a shoestring and quickly went bankrupt fighting its War of Independence against Britain. At the war's end, the national government owed tremendous sums to foreign creditors and its own citizens. But lacking the power... View Details

Keywords: History; Sovereign Finance; Ethnicity Characteristics; Economics; Great Britain; United States

18 Feb 2016
News

Should Yellen Be the Central Banker to the World?

Article

Least-Cost Avoiders in Online Fraud and Abuse

By: Benjamin Edelman

Web users face considerable fraud, malfeasance, and economic harm that system operators could prevent or mitigate. Although the legal system can respond, regulations have mixed results. I examine the applicable legal rules that constrain online fraud and the economic... View Details

Keywords: Online Technology; Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Economics; Law

Winter 2022
Article

Determinants of Small Business Reopening Decisions After COVID Restrictions Were Lifted

By: Dylan Balla-Elliott, Zoë B. Cullen, Edward L. Glaeser, Michael Luca and Christopher Stanton

The COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatic economic disruptions, including government-imposed restrictions that temporarily shuttered millions of American businesses. We use a nation-wide survey of thousands of small business owners to establish three main facts about... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Demand Forecasting; Reopening; Health Pandemics; Government Administration; Small Business

2023
Working Paper

No Mask, No Service: Customer Reaction to Walmart’s 2020 National Mask Mandate

By: Innessa Colaiacovo

Multi-location firms face a complex series of economic tradeoffs when deciding whether to implement standard processes or allow processes to vary across establishments. One element of this tradeoff is customer response. This paper explores customer reaction to a... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Geographic Location; Policy; Health Pandemics; Retail Industry; United States

2010
Book

The Big Ditch: How America Took, Built, Ran, and Ultimately Gave Away the Panama Canal

By: Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu

On August 15, 1914, the Panama Canal was officially opened for business, thus changing the face of both world trade and military power and playing a pivotal role in the rise of the United States on the world stage. Today we view the creation of the Panama Canal as a... View Details

Keywords: Political History; For-Profit Firms; Development Economics; Infrastructure; State Ownership; Ship Transportation; Panama; United States

19 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Affordable Housing: Israel and the United States

"ghost" condominiums, coupled with immigration, fuel the demand. The supply of housing is limited, due to the topography of the nation, the need to live near jobs, and the fact that the government owns 90% of the land. Add to... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas, John H. Vogel & Charles S. Laven; Construction; Real Estate

19 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 19

Publications August 2013 American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics Accounting for Crises By: Nagar, Venky, and Gwen Yu Abstract—We provide one of the first empirical evidence consistent with recent macro global-game crisis models, which... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Benjamin C. Esty

Benjamin Esty is the Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Over the years, he has taught a variety of courses ranging from advanced corporate finance and project finance to competitive strategy and leadership. He... View Details

Keywords: banking; asset management; investment banking industry; consumer products; shipping; wine; financial services

Charlotte L. Robertson

Charlotte Robertson is an Assistant Professor in the Business, Government, and the International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches BGIE in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Robertson conducts research on the history of financial... View Details

2009
Other Unpublished Work

Singapore Competitiveness Report

By: Christian H.M. Ketels, Ashish Lall and Boon Siong Neo

The 2009 Singapore Competitiveness Report, the first in this new series of regular assessments by the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, provides data and analysis to inform the discussions on the impact of the crisis... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Singapore

2010
Report

Vietnam Competitiveness Report 2010

By: Christian H.M. Ketels, Nguyen Dinh Cung, Nguyen Thi Tue Anh and Do Hong Hanh

The 2010 Vietnam Competitiveness Report contains a broad assessment of Vietnam's current competitiveness, an analysis of the key challenges and opportunities ahead, and a proposal for an economic strategy to enable Vietnam to reach a higher level of sustainable growth.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Labor; Industry Clusters; Performance Capacity; Performance Productivity; Competitive Strategy

29 Sep 2018
News

The curiously varied impact of recessions on political stability: New evidence

March 2011
Module Note

Varieties of Capitalism

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull

This module, part of the second year HBS course MITI, introduces a political economy approach to analyzing national economic strategies, with a primary focus on German economic policy. View Details

Keywords: Economy; Markets; Curriculum and Courses; Policy; Competitive Advantage; Goals and Objectives; Geographic Location; Strategy; Germany

07 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

The Forgotten Book that Helped Shape the Modern Economy

book, Translating Empire: Emulation and the Origins of Political Economy, Harvard Business School historian Sophus A. Reinert unearths John Cary's An Essay on the State of England. Writing in 1695, Cary laid out a powerful case for how England, through muscular View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Rwandan Tea Industry, The: Looking into the Future

By: Debora L. Spar

In 2003, the Rwandan government was focused on transforming the nation's tea industry into a world-class competitor. To accomplish this objective and stave off the downward prices that plagued the international tea market, the government believed that the industry... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Privatization; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Rwanda