Publications

2020
Discussion Paper

Acting Now While Preparing for Tomorrow: Competitiveness Upgrading Under the Shadow of COVID-19

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Peter Clinch

This paper aims to provide policy makers, especially those focused on the longer-term growth potential of their countries, with an initial framework to think about their action priorities in the context of the overall COVID-19 response. Our focus is on the... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; COVID-19 Pandemic; Competition; Government Administration; Health Pandemics; Economy; Supply Chain; Safety

September 1999 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Taiwan: "Only the Paranoid Survive"

By: Bruce R. Scott and James R. Matthews

Taiwan has enjoyed remarkable growth since 1950. This case presents differing views of the role and contribution of the state in this process. Then it explores recent industrial policy in semiconductors. View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Business and Government Relations; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

2011
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2011

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The Nordic Globalization Barometer 2011, the fourth in its series, builds on the methodology established in previous editions: The first part provides a short overview of the macroeconomic climate in the Nordic countries. The second part tracks the changes in economic... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Trade; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Scandinavia

November 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Inequality and the "American Model"

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

Official data that suggest economic inequality has been mounting in the United States on various dimensions since 1979. Many causes of such inequality have been postulated: technological change, globalization, demographic factors, and changes in public policy (notably... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Wealth and Poverty; Corporate Governance; Social Issues; Government Administration; United States

November 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

The Global Great Depression, 1929-1939

By: Alberto Cavallo, Sophus A. Reinert and Federica Gabrieli

The Great Depression was, by far, the worst economic contraction of the twentieth century, and some of the most important ideas about both fiscal and monetary policy in the second half of the century were developed in response to it. The economic collapse, which... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; Economic Conditions; Unemployment; Homelessness; Financial Crisis; History; Economy; Policy; Poverty; Social Issues; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

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

2019
Chapter

The Great Divergence and the Great Convergence

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter provides a new lens to the extensive debate among economists and economic historians concerning why the West grew rich and the rest of the world lagged behind as modern industrialization took hold in the 19th century. The literature has focused heavily on... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Growth and Development; History; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Oceania

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October 2011
Case

CNBM: Rolling Up China's Cement Industry

By: Joseph L. Bower and G.A. Donovan

The Chinese government has charged Song Zhiping with the job of rationalizing China's cement industry. He has acquired 200 plus companies, but the industry is still fractured. Can he succeed? View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Government and Politics; Construction Industry; Industrial Products Industry; China

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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

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Research Summary

Overview

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl

My academic research centers on uncovering and closing gaps between the theory and reality of tax policy. My main contribution has been to identify and address a mismatch between the goals for taxation typically assumed in theory and the goals the public and... View Details

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

2023
Working Paper

State Employment as a Strategy of Autocratic Control in China

By: Jaya Y. Wen

This paper presents evidence that autocrats use state-owned firms to strategically pacify social unrest via employment provision, a role that may contribute to their favorable treatment and persistence across settings. I use variation in a regional conflict between... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Employment; Government and Politics; Conflict Management; China

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

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

technology operations, marketing, supply chain and operations, talent management, and more, who want to move toward an AI-first digital business and operating model Government officials engaged in developing strategy and View Details

Regina E. Herzlinger

Regina E. Herzlinger is the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She was the first woman to be tenured and chaired at Harvard Business School and serve on many established and start-up corporate health care/medical... View Details

Keywords: health care; insurance industry; medical devices; retailing; digital health

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

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Universal Basic Income, Job Guarantees, or None of the Above?

By: William R. Kerr, Reilly Kiernan and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

How can policymakers and business leaders address AI and automation's potential for widespread labor market displacement? This case examines potential policy responses, looking closely at the United States' existing social safety net and the impacts of implementing... View Details

Keywords: UBI; Job Guarantee; Managing The Future Of Work; EITC; Employment; Labor; Social Issues; Income; Government and Politics; Policy; Problems and Challenges

November 2007 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Indonesia: Attracting Foreign Investment

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Indonesia from independence after World War II to 2006 and the post-Suharto period. The coverage of the post-Suharto period provides evidence of how political and economic conditions are intertwined after a change in the political... View Details

Keywords: History; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry; Indonesia