Publications

August 1977 (Revised February 1981)
Background Note

Introduction to Balance of Payments Analysis

By: Bruce R. Scott

Minimal background to permit interpretation of positive or negative balances in the key summary accounts of a balance of payments statement; also to permit relating these balances and relevant supporting detail to a possible national development strategy. Designed for... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Development Economics; Planning; Accounting Industry; Canada

September 2010
Supplement

Using Regression Analysis to Estimate Time Equations (CW)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

This note presents a simple way to estimate time equations using regression analysis in Excel. The note quickly outlines regression analysis, then presents a real-life case example from the natural gas industry that students can use to gain experience developing and... View Details

Keywords: History; Management Practices and Processes; Activity Based Costing and Management; Learning; Outcome or Result; Financial Statements; Experience and Expertise; Adoption; Communication Technology; Knowledge Acquisition; Management Skills

November 1997
Case

Herbert Hoover (B)

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents a character sketch of Herbert Hoover, along with Hoover's views on the cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Illustrates the political economy of the period and presents different interpretations of the course of the Great Depression. A rewritten version... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Personal Characteristics

2007
Book

A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics: What Managers, Executives, and Students Need to Know

By: David A. Moss

Now more than ever before, executives and managers need to understand their larger economic context. In The Concise Guide to Macroeconomics, David Moss leverages his many years of teaching experience at Harvard Business School to lay out important macroeconomic... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Money; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

15 Apr 2019
News

Why Anxious Customers Prefer Human Customer Service

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 16 Oct 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Business Analytics

Develop a data mindset and the analytical skills to interpret and communicate data. This course will demystify data analysis and equip you with concrete skills to apply in your work or further studies. Program Dates: October 16, 2019 - December 11, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 07 Aug 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Business Analytics

Develop a data mindset and the analytical skills to interpret and communicate data. This course will demystify data analysis and equip you with concrete skills to apply in your work or further studies. Program Dates: August 7, 2019 - October 2, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EST, 09 Jan 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Business Analytics

Develop a data mindset and the analytical skills to interpret and communicate data. This course will demystify data analysis and equip you with concrete skills to apply in your work or further studies. Program Dates: January 9, 2019 - March 6, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 9 AM EDT, 09 Oct 2018

HBX Business Analytics

Develop a data mindset and the analytical skills to interpret and communicate data. This course will demystify data analysis and equip you with concrete skills to apply in your work or further studies. Program Dates: October 9, 2018 - December 6, 2018 View Details

October 2007 (Revised November 2010)
Module Note

Evaluating M&A Deals-Equity Consideration

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

What the acquiring company pays for a target in a merger or acquisition is called "consideration." Consideration can be in the form of cash, shares, or a combination of the two. Lays out the basic mechanics of equity consideration. Derives formulas for the Deal NPV of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Equity

February 2003
Tutorial

Pre-Money / Post-Money Tutorial

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Nitin Nohria, Michael J. Roberts, Arleen Ahearn-Cavanaugh and Sal Darji

An online, interactive tutorial that addresses issues surrounding entrepreneurial valuations. Topics include: the difference between an implied and a "bottom-up" valuation; the difference between pre-money and post-money valuations; the calculation of pre-money and... View Details

Keywords: Money

December 2017
Response

Reply: Do Powerful Politicians Really Cause Corporate Downsizing?

By: Lauren Cohen, Joshua D. Coval and Christopher J. Malloy

While we commend the initiative of Snyder and Welch (2017), we lay out in this short reply why we remain highly confident in our results and our interpretation thereof. We welcome authors to continue to explore the data for themselves and look forward to the new... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Private Sector; Taxation; Interest Rates; Business and Government Relations; Investment; Employment; Power and Influence

May 2020
Article

Identifying Sources of Inefficiency in Health Care

By: Amitabh Chandra and Douglas O. Staiger

In medicine, the reasons for variation in treatment rates across hospitals serving similar patients are not well understood. Some interpret this variation as unwarranted and push standardization of care as a way of reducing allocative inefficiency. However, an... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Performance Efficiency; Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods

Register to Read

June 2021
Technical Note

Introduction to Linear Regression

By: Michael Parzen and Paul Hamilton

This technical note introduces (from an applied point of view) the theory and application of simple and multiple linear regression. The motivation for the model is introduced, as well as how to interpret the summary output with regard to prediction and statistical... View Details

Keywords: Linear Regression; Regression; Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Risk and Uncertainty; Theory; Compensation and Benefits; Mathematical Methods; Analytics and Data Science

January 2006
Tutorial

Cost-Volume Profit Models

By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens

Covers fixed, variable, and semivariable costs and their role in building and interpreting cost-volume-profit models. Introduces the cost-volume and contribution-volume-profit models and identifies some of their uses and limitations. Teaches how to use the... View Details

Keywords: Volume; Cost; Profit; Mathematical Methods

Video

Introduction to Data Science for Business

November 2007 (Revised September 2010)
Background Note

The Rong Family: A Chinese Business History

By: Elisabeth Koll

Provides the complex historical background to understanding the development of family businesses in China from the late 19th century to the present. Using the example of the Rong family, China's most prominent industrialist family in pre-1949 China, analyzes the... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Business History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; Social and Collaborative Networks; China

2017
Working Paper

Identifying Sources of Inefficiency in Health Care

By: Amitabh Chandra and Douglas O. Staiger

In medicine, the reasons for variation in treatment rates across hospitals serving similar patients are not well understood. Some interpret this variation as unwarranted and push standardization of care as a way of reducing allocative inefficiency. However, an... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Performance Efficiency; Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods

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2022
Working Paper

TalkToModel: Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations

By: Dylan Slack, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju and Sameer Singh

Practitioners increasingly use machine learning (ML) models, yet they have become more complex and harder to understand. To address this issue, researchers have proposed techniques to explain model predictions. However, practitioners struggle to use explainability... View Details

Keywords: Natural Language Conversations; Predictive Models; AI and Machine Learning