Filter Results:
(319)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (447)
- Faculty Publications (170)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (447)
- Faculty Publications (170)
Sort by
- October 2012
- Case
Brazil 2003: Inflation Targeting and Debt Dynamics (Abridged)
By: Laura Alfaro and Rafael Di Tella
In October 2002, Brazilians elected a left-wing president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, for the first time in that country's history. As markets faltered in response, Lula sought to reaffirm his commitment to fiscal discipline, a floating exchange rate, and inflation... View Details
- September 2011 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Penn Warranty Corporation
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Penn Warranty Corporation sold warranty contracts to the used car market. During the recession in 2008/2009 Penn's sales declined by 26% Instead of growing by 11% as forecasted. Also, disruptions in financial and insurance markets created a cash shortfall. In the... View Details
Ruback, Richard S., and Royce Yudkoff. "Penn Warranty Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 212-007, September 2011. (Revised from original August 2011 version.)
- Article
Present Bias Causes and Then Dissipates Auto-enrollment Savings Effects
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Peter Maxted
Present bias causes procrastination, which leads households to stick with auto-enrollment defaults. However, present bias also engenders overconsumption. Separation from each employer generates a rollover of 401(k) balances to an individual retirement account (IRA)... View Details
Keywords: Present Bias; Procrastination; Personal Finance; Decision Making; Social Psychology; Retirement
Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Peter Maxted. "Present Bias Causes and Then Dissipates Auto-enrollment Savings Effects." AEA Papers and Proceedings 112 (May 2022): 136–141.
- 2021
- Working Paper
Elusive Safety: The New Geography of Capital Flows and Risk
By: Laura Alfaro, Ester Faia, Ruth Judson and Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr
A confidential dataset with industry-level disaggregation of U.S. cross-border claims and liabilities, shows U.S. securities to be increasingly intermediated by tax-haven-financial-centers (THFC) and less regulated funds. These securities are risky, in... View Details
Keywords: Tax Havens; Financial Centers; Geography Of Flows; Profit Shifting; Tax Avoidance; Risk; Safe Assets; Hetergeneous Firms; Endogenous Entry; Endogenous Monitoring; Regulatory Arbitrage; Assets; Safety; Risk and Uncertainty; Capital; Global Range
Alfaro, Laura, Ester Faia, Ruth Judson, and Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr. "Elusive Safety: The New Geography of Capital Flows and Risk." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-099, March 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- March 2011
- Supplement
Countrywide plc (CW)
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott
One of the world's leading investors in distressed companies, Oaktree Capital Management is contemplating a "loan to own" investment in the debt f Countrywide plc, a financially troubled residential real estate agent based in the U.K. Only sixteen months earlier,... View Details
- April 2025
- Article
The Impact of Minority Representation at Mortgage Lenders
By: W. Scott Frame, Ruidi Huang, Erica Jiang, Yeonjoon Lee, Will Liu, Erik J. Mayer and Adi Sunderam
We study links between the labor market for loan officers and access to mortgage credit. Using novel data matching the (near) universe of mortgage applications to loan officers, we find that minorities are significantly underrepresented among loan officers. Minority... View Details
Keywords: Household Finance; Demographic Economics; Financial Institutions; Diversity; Prejudice and Bias; Mortgages; Personal Finance
Frame, W. Scott, Ruidi Huang, Erica Jiang, Yeonjoon Lee, Will Liu, Erik J. Mayer, and Adi Sunderam. "The Impact of Minority Representation at Mortgage Lenders." Journal of Finance 80, no. 2 (April 2025): 1209–1260.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Undisclosed Debt Sustainability
By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk
Over the past decade, non–Paris Club creditors, notably China, have become an important source of financing for low- and middle-income countries. In contrast with typical sovereign debt, these lending arrangements are not public, and other creditors have no information... View Details
Keywords: Sovereign Debt; Transparency; Sustainability; Sovereign Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Information; China
Alfaro, Laura, and Fabio Kanczuk. "Undisclosed Debt Sustainability." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-043, September 2019.
- October 22, 2012
- Article
Interest Rate Pass-Through: Mortgage Rates, Household Consumption, and Voluntary Deleveraging
By: Marco Di Maggio, Amir Kermani, Benjamin Keys, Tomasz Piskorski, Rodney Ramcharan, Amit Seru and Vincent Yao
Exploiting variation in the timing of resets of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), we find that a sizable decline in mortgage payments (up to 50%) induces a significant increase in car purchases (up to 35%). This effect is attenuated by voluntary deleveraging. Borrowers... View Details
Keywords: Monetary Policy; Household Finance; Refinancing; Contract Rigidities; Debt Rigidity; MPC; Deleveraging; Personal Finance; Household; Policy; Borrowing and Debt; Macroeconomics
Di Maggio, Marco, Amir Kermani, Benjamin Keys, Tomasz Piskorski, Rodney Ramcharan, Amit Seru, and Vincent Yao. "Interest Rate Pass-Through: Mortgage Rates, Household Consumption, and Voluntary Deleveraging." American Economic Review 107, no. 11 (November 2017): 3550–3588. (Note: this is a combined version of working papers Monetary Policy Pass-Through: Household Consumption and Voluntary Deleveraging by M. Di Maggio, A. Kermani and R. Ramcharan previously Revise & Resubmit at American Economic Review and Mortgage Rates, Household Balance Sheets, and the Real Economy by B. Keys, T. Piskorski, A. Seru, and V. Yao previously Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Political Economy.)
- February 2011
- Journal Article
Minimal Settlement Assets in Economies with Interconnected Financial Obligations
By: Julio J. Rotemberg
A model is developed where firms belonging to a group are obliged to make payments to one another by using a liquid asset. The paper studies the exogenous endowments of this asset that are necessary to assure that all obligations are met. Conditions are presented under... View Details
Rotemberg, Julio J. "Minimal Settlement Assets in Economies with Interconnected Financial Obligations." Journal of Money, Credit & Banking 43, no. 1 (February 2011): 81–108.
- September 2011
- Article
How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?
The credit rating industry has historically been dominated by just two agencies, Moody's and S&P, leading to longstanding legislative and regulatory calls for increased competition. The material entry of a third rating agency (Fitch) to the competitive landscape offers... View Details
Keywords: Credit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Forecasting and Prediction; Theory
Becker, Bo, and Todd Milbourn. "How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?" Journal of Financial Economics 101, no. 3 (September 2011): 493–514.
- November 2009
- Article
Finding Missing Markets (and a Disturbing Epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya
By: Nava Ashraf, Xavier Gine and Dean Karlan
Farmers may grow crops for local consumption despite more profitable export options. DrumNet, a Kenyan NGO that helps small farmers adopt and market export crops, conducted a randomized trial to evaluate its impact. DrumNet services increased production of export crops... View Details
Keywords: Export Crop; Field Experiment; Food Safety Standards; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Profit; Marketing; Standards; Failure; Non-Governmental Organizations; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Kenya; European Union
Ashraf, Nava, Xavier Gine, and Dean Karlan. "Finding Missing Markets (and a Disturbing Epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 91, no. 4 (November 2009): 973–990.
- 2008
- Working Paper
How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?
The credit rating industry has historically been dominated by just two agencies, Moody's and S&P, leading to longstanding legislative and regulatory calls for increased competition. The material entry of a third rating agency (Fitch) to the competitive landscape offers... View Details
Keywords: Credit; Financial Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Quality; Reputation; Competition; Financial Services Industry
Becker, Bo, and Todd Milbourn. "How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-051, October 2008. (Revised July 2009, September 2010.)
- Article
Undisclosed Debt Sustainability
By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk
Over the past decade, non-Paris Club creditors, notably China, have become an important source of financing for low- and middle-income countries. In contrast with typical sovereign debt, these lending arrangements are not public, and other creditors have no information... View Details
Alfaro, Laura, and Fabio Kanczuk. "Undisclosed Debt Sustainability." AEA Papers and Proceedings 112 (May 2022): 521–525.
- 2014
- Working Paper
Further Evidence on Consequences of Debt Covenant Violations
By: Yu Gao, Mozaffar N. Khan and Liang Tan
We present new evidence on debt covenant violation (DCV) consequences that have not previously been examined in the literature. In particular, we show that a DCV triggers significant information asymmetry and uncertainty on the part of shareholders and auditors as... View Details
Keywords: Accounting
Gao, Yu, Mozaffar N. Khan, and Liang Tan. "Further Evidence on Consequences of Debt Covenant Violations." Working Paper, July 2014. (Conditionally accepted, Contemporary Accounting Research.)
- 09 Apr 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
The Economics of Structured Finance
- 2024
- Working Paper
Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment
By: John Beshears, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook and Neil Stewart
Does automatic enrollment into retirement saving increase household debt? We study the randomized roll-out of automatic enrollment pensions to ~160,000 employers in the United Kingdom with 2-29 employees. We find that the additional savings generated through automatic... View Details
Keywords: Retirement; Saving; Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Compensation and Benefits
Beshears, John, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook, and Neil Stewart. "Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment." Working Paper, October 2024.
- December 2010
- Article
Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race
By: Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk
The main arguments in favor of and against nominal and indexed debt are the incentive to default through inflation versus hedging against unforeseen shocks. We model and calibrate these arguments to assess their quantitative importance. We use a dynamic equilibrium... View Details
Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Motivation and Incentives; Inflation and Deflation; System Shocks; Taxation; Risk and Uncertainty; Framework; Problems and Challenges; Interest Rates; Cost; Developing Countries and Economies; Service Operations
Alfaro, Laura, and Fabio Kanczuk. "Nominal versus Indexed Debt: A Quantitative Horse Race." Journal of International Money and Finance 29, no. 8 (December 2010): 1706–1726. (Also Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 05-053 and NBER Working Paper No. 13131.)
- July 2021 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
Pershing Square's Pandemic Trade (A)
By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira, Dean Xu and Lucas Baker
This case explores the decision that Bill Ackman, CEO and founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, was considering in late February 2020 about hedging the exposure of the fund’s portfolio from the potential financial fallout ensuing from an extreme event like... View Details
Keywords: Health Pandemics; Financial Liquidity; Cost Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk Management
Siriwardane, Emil N., Luis M. Viceira, Dean Xu, and Lucas Baker. "Pershing Square's Pandemic Trade (A)." Harvard Business School Case 222-007, July 2021. (Revised December 2021.)
- January 2002 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Finova Group, Inc. (A), The
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan
Finova Group, a $14 billion commercial finance company, filed for Chapter 11 in early March 2001, in what was one of the largest U.S. bankruptcy filings of all time and the largest corporate bond default since the Great Depression. While in Chapter 11, Finova became... View Details
Keywords: Acquisition; Business Startups; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Price; Crisis Management; Bids and Bidding; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; United States
Gilson, Stuart C., and Perry Fagan. "Finova Group, Inc. (A), The." Harvard Business School Case 202-095, January 2002. (Revised January 2003.)
- June 2009 (Revised November 2020)
- Case
Busse Place
By: Arthur I Segel, William J. Poorvu, Richard Kessler, Justin Seth Ginsburgh and Eric Fleiss
Busse Corporate Center's largest tenant recently declared bankruptcy, leaving the building 38% occupied and significantly overleveraged. In a depressed suburban Chicago office market, Hannah Sanchez, the leasing agent, has to negotiate lease proposals with three... View Details
Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Restructuring; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Mortgages; Investment; Leasing; Property; Real Estate Industry; Chicago
Segel, Arthur I., William J. Poorvu, Richard Kessler, Justin Seth Ginsburgh, and Eric Fleiss. "Busse Place." Harvard Business School Case 209-154, June 2009. (Revised November 2020.)