Publications

24 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 24, 2018

Democrats, their beliefs and values suggest that Peronists are the Argentine equivalent of the Republicans. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54386 forthcoming Latin American Economic Review Introduction to Argentine Exceptionalism By:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

A Currency We Can Call Our Own: Populism, Banking Crises, and Exchange Rate Crises in Argentina, 1946–2002

By: Rafael Di Tella

The case describes Argentina's struggle to establish a credible monetary system under populist pressures and the recurrent use of exchange rate stabilization plans. It focuses on two episodes where there was "too little money" in the economy: during the hyperinflation... View Details

Keywords: Debt Crisis; Hyperinflation; Financial Crisis; Inflation and Deflation; Currency Exchange Rate; Argentina

2023
Working Paper

Keep Your Enemies Closer: Strategic Platform Adjustments during U.S. and French Elections

By: Rafael Di Tella, Randy Kotti, Caroline Le Pennec and Vincent Pons

A key tenet of representative democracy is that politicians' discourse and policies should follow voters' preferences. In the median voter theorem, this outcome emerges as candidates strategically adjust their platform to get closer to their opponent. Despite its... View Details

Keywords: Political Ideology; Political Elections; United States; France

Find at Harvard

July 2015
Teaching Note

Breaking Bad (the Rules): Argentina Defaults, Inflates (and Grows), 1997–2015

By: Rafael Di Tella

October 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The 2012 Spanish Labor Reform: Lifting All Boats, or Leveling Down?

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella, Santiago Botella and Elena Corsi

Since 1978, Spain had struggled to control unemployment. The country’s labor law was protective of employees hired long-term and companies used temporary contracts as buffers. In 2012, amid economic recession and a 23.6% unemployment rate, a center-right government of... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor Market; Unemployment; Recession; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; International Relations; Working Conditions; Employment; Labor Unions; Contracts; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Spain; European Union

April 2011 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Latvia: Navigating the Strait of Messina

By: Rafael Di Tella, Rawi Abdelal and Natalie Kindred

This case describes Latvia's transition from a Soviet republic into an EU member, its economic boom and subsequent bust in 2008, and its policy response. After implementing significant economic and political reforms in order to qualify for EU membership in 2004, Latvia... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Competitive Strategy; Economic Growth; Policy; Financial Crisis; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Latvia

25 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 25

Working PapersAnger and Regulation Authors:Rafael Di Tella and Juan DubraNBER Working Paper Series, No. 15201, August 2009 Abstract We propose a model where voters experience an emotional cost when they... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 1

Materials The Korean Model of Shared Growth, 1960-1990 Aldo Musacchio, Rafael Di Tella, and Jonathan SchleferHarvard Business School Case 712-052 This case narrates the development of the Republic of Korea... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

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 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Russia: A Drama In Three Acts

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella, Galit Goldstein and Sogomon Tarontsi

The collapse of central authority in the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in a period of revolutionary transformations for the states that emerged in its wake. The leaders of Russia, the USSR's successor, struggled to reestablish central authority while also seeking to... View Details

2017
Working Paper

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman

We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Attitudes; Perspective; Behavior

Find at Harvard

2017
Working Paper

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucía Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman

We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated... View Details

Keywords: Crime; Biological Markers; Experiment; Victimization; Desensitization; Crime and Corruption; Perspective; Attitudes; Behavior

SSRN

Article

Some Uses of Happiness Data in Economics

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

Keywords: Happiness; Analytics and Data Science; Economics

Find at Harvard

1998
Working Paper

The Consequences of Labour Market Flexibility: Panel Evidence Based on Survey Data

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

1999
Working Paper

Unemployment Shocks and Endogenous Labor Market Institutions

By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch

16 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 16, 2010

International Criminal Court Rafael Di Tella and Natalie KindredHarvard Business School Case 710-060 This Case describes a controversial 2010 decision View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 11

material exchange in labor relations). Download the paper: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w16621 Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others Authors:Rafael Di View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2017
Teaching Plan

Populism in America: Fake News, Alternative Facts and Elite Betrayal in the Trump Era

By: Rafael Di Tella and Sarah McAra