Publications

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December 2024
Article

Are Bankruptcy Professional Fees Excessively High?

By: Samuel Antill

Chapter 7 is the most popular bankruptcy system for U.S. firms and individuals. Chapter 7 professional fees are substantial. Theoretically, high fees might be an unavoidable cost of incentivizing professionals. I test this empirically. I study trustees, the most... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Motivation and Incentives; Policy

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

driven at least partly by career concerns. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-014.pdf Policy Bundling to Overcome Loss Aversion: A Method for Improving Legislative Outcomes Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Mary Carol... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 6, 2020
Editorial

Separated by a Common Infection

By: Amar Bhide and Leif Pagrotsky

Unprecedented lockdowns and quarantines to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have evoked emotional disagreements, both between and within different countries. Yet, the consequences of this or any future pandemic depend as much on responses and capabilities on the front... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus; Coronavirus Pandemic; Governance; Policy; Health Pandemics

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fall 2008
Article

The Intermediation of Financial Risks: Evolution in the Catastrophe Reinsurance Market

By: Kenneth A. Froot

In this paper, I provide evidence concerning the imperfections in the reinsurance market. I try to get at some of the root causes of these imperfections, e.g., the behavior of ratings firms and the agency problems associated with the corporate form of ownership. I also... View Details

Keywords: Catastrophe Risk; Corporate Finance; Banking And Insurance; Hedging; Banking; Financial Markets; Insurance; Policy; Risk Management; Natural Disasters; Cost of Capital; Asset Pricing; Insurance Industry

Find at Harvard

25 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

To Pay or Not to Pay: Argentina and the International Debt Market

Editor's note. Argentina is in the midst of a continuing saga regarding its 2002 default on its sovereign debt, a case that the US Supreme Court will decide soon. HBS finance professor Laura Alfaro, who served from 2010 to 2012 as Minister of National Planning and... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro

March 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A) (Abridged)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest public sector workers union in the U.S., was responsible for protecting the pensions of its members. Because pensions were invested for decades, Ferlauto wanted the companies in which... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Investment; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Ownership Stake; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

10 Jul 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help

Keywords: by Amar Bhidé

19 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Affordable Housing: Israel and the United States

more from shopping malls, they have shown little interest in building affordable apartments. Government policies have favored home ownership, and today's interest rates are low. Finally, the rising... View Details

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

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

15 Sep 2016
News

US 'tangled up' in tax structure

04 Feb 2020
Video

Murat Vargı

Murat Vargı, founder of MV Holding and the mobile phone provider Turkcell, describes how Turkey changed in the 1980s under President Özal and his policies of liberalization. View Details

October 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Lehman Brothers and Repo 105

By: Anette Mikes, Gwen Yu and Dominique Hamel

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 was the largest bankruptcy in US history. The case examines the economics of the off-balance sheet transactions Lehman undertook prior to the collapse, and highlights the corporate governance challenges in situations where firms... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Policy; Accounting Audits; Corporate Governance; Financial Instruments; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry

January 1993 (Revised June 1993)
Background Note

Challenge of Commitment,The

By: Michael Beer and Michael J. Gibbs

Defines commitment, describes the psychological and organizational factors that underly it, and provides a comprehensive discussion of the policies and practices managers can employ to enhance commitment. Identifies control and commitment as two critical strategies... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Governance Controls; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Strategy

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

14 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Reforming New Orleans Schools After Katrina

schools are public schools of choice that operate outside the governance and policies of their local school districts. In nearly all states, charter schools must be open to all students, just like... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

July 1996 (Revised July 2009)
Background Note

Antitrust and Competitive Strategy from the 1990s to 2008 (Condensed)

Describes U.S. antitrust policy, including major judicial decisions and their impact on competitive strategy. Omits information on the history of antitrust policy and on the specific prohibitions of the various acts. View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; United States