Publications

24 Sep 2024
Blog Post

Climate Finance in Africa: Health, Self-Interest, Avoided Future Cost

needed. For example, a 2023 report from the Global Center for Adaptation suggests that over $100 billion per year is needed to invest in infrastructure, weather forecasting, and protecting agriculture in... View Details

21 May 2019
News

Confronting the Future of Climate Change in the Midwest

availability, and the need to create effective institutions to manage water scarcity and price water accordingly. While rainfall in the Midwest and elsewhere appears to be increasing, water scarcity in View Details

Keywords: Agriculture

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Cairo: Navigating a Path to Economic Resilience

By: A. Zelleke and Ahmed Dahawy

Egypt has long been a pivotal force in the Middle East and North Africa. Located at a crossroads of global trade routes, the country was a strategic partner for numerous regional and global powers. However, a substantial currency devaluation in 2016 brought many... View Details

Keywords: Egypt; Economy; Business; Country; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Economies and Regions; International Relations; Emerging Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Culture; Egypt

2014
Discussion Paper

The Promise of Microfinance and Women's Empowerment: What Does the Evidence Say?

By: Dina D. Pomeranz

The microfinance revolution has transformed access to financial services for low-income populations worldwide. As a result, it has become one of the most talked-about innovations in global development in recent decades. However, its expansion has not been without... View Details

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2017
Book

Managing Risk in Reinsurance: From City Fires to Global Warming

By: Niels Viggo Hauter and Geoffrey Jones

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive history of the reinsurance industry from the nineteenth century to the present day. Reinsurance developed at the fringe of financial services and, for most of its existence, was largely unnoticed outside the expert... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Risk Management; Business History; Globalization; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America; Asia

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24 Apr 2014
News

Investing in businesses and charities brings jobs and stability

Kathleen Danoher (MBA 1998) talks about the impact of investing in businesses and charitable organizations in South Africa. (Published April 2014) View Details

01 Apr 2001
News

Beyond the Rim: New Paths to Success in Asia

Asia-based old economy and new economy firms. The development of supplier and client relationship management in Japanese companies. Business frontiers are being pushed back in countries throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes and Deborah Blagg; David Lane; Educational Services

2013
Other Unpublished Work

Household Bargaining and Excess Fertility: An Experimental Study in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, Erica Field and Jean Lee

We posit that household decision-making over fertility is characterized by moral hazard due to the fact that most contraception can only be perfectly observed by the woman. Using an experiment in Zambia that varied whether women were given access to contraceptives... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Negotiation; Developing Countries and Economies; Zambia

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June 2023
Case

ByteDance: TikTok and the Trials of Going Viral in 2023

By: William C. Kirby, Noah B. Truwit and John P. McHugh

In March 2023, Chew, with an army of well-paid U.S. lobbyists and TikTok creators, descended on Washington. In his testimony, he planned to highlight the 150 million daily active American users on TikTok and how the platform had benefitted small business owners and... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; International Relations; Government Legislation; China; United States

February 2014
Teaching Note

Community Health Workers in Zambia: Incentive Design and Management

By: Nava Ashraf and Kristin Johnson

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Training; Health Care and Treatment; Compensation and Benefits; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Mission and Purpose; Non-Governmental Organizations; Motivation and Incentives; Health Industry; Zambia

January 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

KenCall - Can Nik Nesbitt's Venture Succeed in Kenya?

Nik Nesbitt is preparing a presentation of his Kenyan contact center startup to a group of angel investors visiting for the first time. The task has given him cause for some soul searching: has it been worth it to battle the impoverished infrastructure and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Kenya

06 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Subjectivity in Tournaments: Implicit Rewards and Penalties and Subsequent Performance

Keywords: by Wei Cai and Susanna Gallani; Manufacturing

January 2023
Supplement

Junson Capital (B): Digital Transparency In the Family Office

By: Lauren Cohen, Hao Gao, Trang Duong, Grace Headinger and Keven Wang

Keywords: China; Hong Kong

03 May 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Big BRICs, Weak Foundations: The Beginning of Public Elementary Education in Brazil, Russia, India, and China, 1880-1930

Keywords: by Latika Chaudhary, Aldo Musacchio, Steven Nafziger & Se Yan

Web

Driving Impact in Emerging Markets with HBS Alum Nneka Chime (MBA 2015) - Recruiting

role in the Africa Business Club as co-leader of the Africa Business Conference . Leading the conference provided Nneka with a window into how her interests and skills could... View Details

Article

Household Bargaining and Excess Fertility: An Experimental Study in Zambia

By: Nava Ashraf, Erica Field and Jean Lee

We posit that household decision-making over fertility is characterized by moral hazard due to the fact that most contraception can only be perfectly observed by the woman. Using an experiment in Zambia that varied whether women were given access to contraceptives... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Health; Household; Gender; Zambia

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September 2003
Case

Growing Up in China: The Financing of BabyCare Ltd.

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

The CFO of this infant nutritional products company must choose among competing financing offers. The interplay of Chinese legal and customs restrictions and venture capitalists' bargaining techniques challenge the CFO to navigate a tricky negotiation and to devise a... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Working Capital; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; China

18 Jul 2024
Blog Post

Building the Future: An HBS Alumna’s Journey in Sustainable Infrastructure Investment

Abisinuola David-Olusa (MBA 2024) is a recent graduate from Nigeria. Prior to HBS, she worked with an African-focused private equity fund deploying capital for infrastructure investing. At HBS, she was Section E’s Education Representative, and actively involved View Details

March 2004
Supplement

Growing Up in China: The Financing of BabyCare Ltd.

By: Mihir A. Desai and Mark Veblen

Spreadsheet to (9-204-029). Selected case exhibits. Download only. View Details

Keywords: China