Publications

2009
Working Paper

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

By: Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo and Robert C. Merton

The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market—rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities—led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Mortgages; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Mathematical Methods; Real Estate Industry; United States

2009
Working Paper

Systemic Risk and the Refinancing Ratchet Effect

By: Amir E. Khandani, Andrew W. Lo and Robert C. Merton

The confluence of three trends in the U.S. residential housing market-rising home prices, declining interest rates, and near-frictionless refinancing opportunities-led to vastly increased systemic risk in the financial system. Individually, each of these trends is... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Mortgages; Interest Rates; Price; Housing; Risk and Uncertainty; United States

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26 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 26

workforce is not a quick fix to control costs or improve the quality of care. A poorly planned redesign can even result in increased costs and decreased quality. Changes in skill mix and role definitions should be preceded by a detailed... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

by deviating frequently and in predictable ways from the recommendations offered by a centralized capacity planning model. Finally, we document that these discretionary capacity supply decisions exhibit a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 26, 2019

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55749 forthcoming Review of Economics and Statistics Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Healthcare By: Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, Renata Lemos, and John Van Reenen Abstract— We investigate the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 1991 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Tennessee Controls: The Strategic Ranking Problem

By: Robert L. Simons and Dale Geiger

Tennessee Controls has instituted a new formal asset acquisition process to rank competing proposals. Judy Starnes, the new division manager, is asked to rank three proposals by using techniques to quantify economic returns, risk, as well as the credibility of the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Governance Controls; Management Systems; Strategic Planning; Mathematical Methods; Electronics Industry

September 2007 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Norway Sells Wal-Mart

By: Robert C. Pozen and Aldo Sesia

In June 2006, Norway's Pension Fund decided to divest its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. after an investigation by the Fund's Ethics Council. According to a spokesperson of Norway's Finance Ministry, "The recommendation to exclude Wal-Mart cites serious and... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Ethics; Insurance; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Government and Politics; Rights; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Norway

15 Sep 2015
First Look

September 15, 2015

decision support tool for Rue La La's daily use. We conduct a field experiment and find that sales do not decrease due to implementing tool recommended price increases for medium and high price point products. Finally, we estimate an increase in revenue of the test... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 12

choice, and consumers fight back by rooting out and disseminating pricing policies that seem unfair. The problem is that companies generally think of value as a pie that is rightfully theirs. But value is not fixed, and it neither... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2017 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Intermountain Healthcare: Pursuing Precision Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Kathy E. Giusti, Robert S. Huckman and Julia Kelley

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Intermountain Healthcare operates 23 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in Utah and Idaho and provides insurance to approximately 850,000 patients through its insurance arm, SelectHealth. In 2013, Intermountain, known for its commitment... View Details

Keywords: Precision Medicine; Healthcare; Innovation; Cancer; Cancer Research; Health Care; Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Leadership; Disruptive Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; Utah; United States; North America

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

interest rates is driven by four state variables: the real interest rate, temporary and permanent components of expected inflation, the "nominal-real covariance" of inflation, and the real interest rate with the real economy. The last of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Relevance to investment performance is the most frequent motivation for use of ESG data followed by client demand and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 6

competition for the past 20 years: an ad hoc, laissez-faire vision promoted by the United States versus a managed vision relying on multilateral rules and international organizations promoted by the European... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2004
Article

Inequality and Happiness: Are Europeans and Americans Different?

By: Rafael Di Tella, Alberto Alesina and Robert MacCulloch

We study the effect of the level of inequality in society on individual well-being using a total of 123,668 answers to a survey question about “happiness”. We find that individuals have a lower tendency to report themselves happy when inequality is high, even after... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Happiness; Global Range; Local Range; United States; Europe

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02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

workday events can make or break employees' inner work lives. But it's forward momentum in meaningful work—progress that creates the best inner work lives. Through rigorous analysis of nearly 12,000 diary entries provided by 238 employees... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2012
Chapter

Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?

By: Robert G. Eccles, Annissa Alusi, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul

Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; City; Urban Development; Infrastructure; Housing; Urban Scope; Business Ventures; Business Model; Green Technology Industry

2010
Working Paper

Sustainable Cities: Oxymoron or the Shape of the Future?

By: Annissa Alusi, Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul

Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Investment; City; Infrastructure; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Information Technology; Green Technology Industry; Real Estate Industry