Publications

2008
Working Paper

The Agglomeration of U.S. Ethnic Inventors

By: William R. Kerr

The ethnic composition of US inventors is undergoing a significant transformation—with deep impacts for the overall agglomeration of US innovation. This study applies an ethnic-name database to individual US patent records to explore these trends with greater detail.... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Geographic Location; Patents; Ethnicity; City; Innovation and Invention; United States

SSRN

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19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

this strategy actually worked, up until now. “LEED [adoption] is not just something to pay attention to when there's a bid to rebuild city hall.” In a new paper, Public Procurement and the Private Supply of Green Buildings, authors... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

May 2018
Teaching Note

Environmental Platform LEEDership at USGBC

By: Michael W. Toffel and Timothy S. Simcoe

Teaching Note for HBS No. 618-027. View Details

September 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

LabCDMX: Experiment 50

By: Mitchell Weiss and Maria Fernanda Miguel

There were probably 30,000 public buses, minibuses, and vans in Mexico City. Though, in 2015, no one knew for certain since no comprehensive schedule existed. This was why el Laboratorio para la Ciudad (or LabCDMX) had spawned an effort to generate a map of the... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Experimentation; Lean Startup; Government; Innovation; Crowdsourcing; Open Data; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Government Administration; Transportation; Transportation Industry; Mexico City; Mexico

15 Feb 2017
Op-Ed

What Africa Can Teach the United States About Funding Infrastructure Projects

the great cities of America. But there will likely be massive arguments about how to raise the money and how to invest it. The solution may lie in finance models that have proven successful in several nations across the Atlantic Ocean—not... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction

27 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

New Cluster Mapping Project Helps Companies Locate Facilities

remarkably dynamic, however, and some entirely new clusters may emerge out of existing ones and become clusters in their own right. Q: One area companies seem not to consider in their expansion or moving plans is the inner city. But your work with, among others, the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 1997
Teaching Note

BancZero New Product Development TN

By: Marco Iansiti

Teaching Note for (9-697-044). View Details

Keywords: Banking Industry; Mexico City; United States

2006
Teaching Note

Managing the Chicago Public Schools, Teaching Note

By: Allen Grossman, Richard Elmore and Caroline King

Keywords: Education; Management; City; Chicago

26 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Effect: Cheaper Rooms for Travelers, Less Revenue for Hotels

"The benefits to travelers and the reduction in pricing power of hotels is really concentrated in particular cities during certain times," says Chiara Farronato, a co-author of the study. "When hotels are fully booked,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Travel

31 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

State and Local Governments Peer Into the Pandemic Abyss

Cities and states are feeling the financial pain of this recession more quickly than in past downturns after pandemic-induced lockdowns swiftly decimated sales tax revenue that helps fund their operations. In fact, new research finds that... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

Immigration, Natives' Marriage and Fertility By: Carlana, Michela, and Marco Tabellini Abstract—In this paper, we study the effects of immigration on natives’ marriage, fertility, and family formation across U.S. cities between 1910 and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2024
Case

Vinalhaven: The Downtown Project

By: Richard S. Ruback, Matthew Preble, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb

Vinalhaven is an island community located approximately 12 miles off the coast of Maine. The island has a year-round population of about 1,300 people as of 2022, with an additional 3,000 people who reside on the island in the summer months. The two largest industries... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Natural Resources; Natural Environment; Weather; Sustainable Cities; Forecasting and Prediction; Construction; Property; Infrastructure; Capital Budgeting; Projects; Project Finance; Negotiation; United States; Maine

06 May 2013
Research & Ideas

How Local Events Shake Up Corporate Philanthropy

the host city increased their overall charitable donations by an average 30 percent. Super Bowls corresponded with a 10 percent increase in donations. "If you're a philanthropic leader, the time to hit up a company is around these... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2011
Working Paper

Why Fears about Municipal Credit Are Overblown

Highly publicized predictions of 50-100 municipal defaults have caused anxiety among municipal bond investors. While there is some chance that negative investor sentiment will lead to further spread widening, the probability of the kind of widespread default that would... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Bonds; Investment Return; City

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03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

beginning in the mid-1910s, the company began changing from manually operated switchboards to mechanical switching systems that were faster and more cost-effective and did not require human operators. By the 1930s, the changeover has been completed or is underway in... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

12 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 12

public education linking an employer, the New York City K-12 public education system, and the city's two-year colleges. P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) was a new concept, a six-year high school running to grade... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Off and Running: Professors Comment on Olympics

co-brand with the Games, and the huge revenues that the Olympics attract from both sponsors and broadcasters. “There are no medals for the Olympics' host city and country” The Olympics are not the Super Bowl—the annual single-game... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Sports

August 2008 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Polanco: A Fashionable Opportunity

By: Arthur I Segel and Ben Creo

Roberto Charvel is a young MBA graduate making his first personal real estate investment in his native Mexico City. Charvel is planning to purchase and renovate a nine-unit apartment building. Is the market good? Should he sell or lease the units? How should he handle... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Housing; Leasing; Property; Real Estate Industry; Mexico City

November 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Cinemex

By: James L. Heskett

The founders of Cinemex, the largest capitalized venture start-up in Mexican history, are debating several issues concerning the operations of their new chain of motion picture theatres in Mexico City. The first concerns whether some seats should be left unsold to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Service Operations; Debates; Venture Capital; Customer Satisfaction; Advertising; Investment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Mexico City