Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(717)
- Faculty Publications (156)
- 2010
- Working Paper
Crashes and Collateralized Lending
By: Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford
This paper develops a parsimonious static model for characterizing financing terms in collateralized lending markets. We characterize the systematic risk exposures for a variety of securities and develop a simple indifference-pricing framework to value the systematic... View Details
- July 2010 (Revised March 2016)
- Case
MacroMarkets LLC
By: Robin Greenwood and Luis M. Viceira
MacroMarkets co-founder and CEO Samuel Masucci III is meeting with a strategic partner for his firm. Co-founded with Yale University Professor Robert Shiller, MacroMarkets' main innovation is the "MacroShare," which allows investors to take long or short, levered or... View Details
- May 2010 (Revised January 2014)
- Case
Water Shortage and Property Investing in Mexico City
By: John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar and Griffin James
A commercial property company evaluates water risks including the government's ability to remedy, the company's operating exposure and mitigation, and whether to relocate because of water risk. A real estate fund manager assesses investment prospects in Mexico City in... View Details
- 2010
- Chapter
Lessons from Catastrophe Reinsurance
By: Kenneth A. Froot
Of the 20 most costly catastrophes since 1970, more than half have occurred since 2001. Is this an omen of what the 21st century will be? How might we behave in this new, uncertain, and more dangerous environment? Will our actions be rational or irrational? A select... View Details
- Article
The Economics of Structured Finance
By: Joshua D. Coval, Jakub W. Jurek and Erik Stafford
This paper investigates the spectacular rise and fall of structured finance. The essence of structured finance activities is the pooling of economic assets like loans, bonds, and mortgages, and the subsequent issuance of a prioritized capital structure of claims, known... View Details
Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Debt Securities; Investment; Risk Management; Behavior
- 2009
- Working Paper
Management and the Financial Crisis (We have met the enemy and he is us...)
The financial crisis of 2008-9 has revealed that our broad model of corporate governance is broken, independent of the shortcomings in the regulatory system. Managers and boards of directors in scores of systemically important firms failed to protect employees,... View Details
- September 2009
- Case
The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, Inc.
By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Stephen P. Bradley and Natalie Kindred
Through its uniquely proactive approach to medical malpractice risk management, the Risk Management Foundation (RMF) has decreased claims—and premiums—for the Harvard hospitals it insures. The RMF is the captive medico-legal insurer of the Harvard medical institutions... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
An Ounce of Prevention: The Power of Public Risk Management in Stabilizing the Financial System
By: David A. Moss
The magnitude of the current financial crisis reflects the failure of an economic and regulatory philosophy that had proved increasingly influential in policy circles over the past three decades.
This paper suggests (1) that contrary to the prevailing wisdom,... View Details
- 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
- March 2008
- Teaching Note
2006 Hurricane Risk (TN)
By: André Perold and Erik Stafford
Teaching Note for [207075]. View Details
- January 2008
- Background Note
Convertible Arbitrage
By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford
The goal of this simulation is to understand how convertible bonds can be viewed as a portfolio of simpler securities and to introduce an over-the-counter market. The convertible bonds that are available during the simulation are at-the-money and in-the-money so that... View Details
- January 2008
- Background Note
Measuring Investment Performance
By: Andre F. Perold and Kenneth A. Froot
Examines various approaches to measuring investment performance. The approaches include the use of risk exposure and the Sharpe and Information Ratios. Applies the approaches to a variety of mutual funds to demonstrate the effect of using different metrics to measure... View Details
- January 2008
- Article
On the Pricing of Intermediated Risks: Theory and Application to Catastrophe Reinsurance
By: K. A. Froot and P. O'Connell
- December 2007
- Case
The Campaign for Bank Insurance in Antebellum New York
By: David A. Moss and Cole Bolton
The New York State Legislature had come to a standstill in 1829 as lawmakers refused to charter any new banks or recharter any existing banks. Four of New York's forty banks had failed since 1825, and many legislatures believed that a significant change in the banking... View Details
- Fourth Quarter 2007
- Article
Contingent Claims Approach to Measuring and Managing Sovereign Credit Risk
By: Dale . F. Gray, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie
This paper proposes a new approach to measure, analyze, and manage sovereign risk based on the theory and practice of modern contingent claims analysis (CCA). The paper provides a new framework for adapting the CCA model to the sovereign balance sheet in a way that can... View Details
- February 2007 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
BASIX
By: Shawn A. Cole and Peter Tufano
BASIX, an Indian microfinance corporation, must decide whether to continue to sell weather insurance to its clients. A brand-new financial product, weather insurance pays if measured rainfall during the growing season falls below a pre-specified limit. Mr. Sattaiah,... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
2006 Hurricane Risk
By: Andre F. Perold and Erik Stafford
In May 2006, a resident of Key West, Florida had to decide whether to renew his policy to insure against hurricane damage. The policy would cost $13,000 for one year, $5,000 more than what he paid in 2005. At the same time, a wealthy California resident was... View Details
- June 2006 (Revised April 2007)
- Case
Nephila: Innovation in Catastrophe Risk Insurance
By: Kenneth A. Froot and Michael Heinrich
At the cross-section of capital markets and the catastrophe insurance space stands the hedge fund Nephila. Nephila must decide how best to take advantage of the newly presented market opportunities post hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and Rita. Nephila has a plethora of... View Details
- March 2006
- Module Note
Exchange Rates and Firms
By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs
Describes a core module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. The module focuses on how firms identify, measure, and manage currency exposures. The cases first introduce students to foreign exchange exposures and the tools used to manage... View Details