Publications

October 2018
Case

Fairview Capital

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Collins

JoAnn Price and Dr. Larry Morse were the first African-Americans to launch a fund of funds in the private equity industry. Their fund, Fairview capital, was created in response to the dearth of capital invested in private equity funds managed by black and other... View Details

Keywords: Alternative Assets; Fund Of Funds; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Decision Making; Strategy; United States

August 2020 (Revised November 2022)
Case

George Soros: The Stateless Statesman

By: Geoffrey Jones and Wendy Ying

This case traces the business career and philanthropic activities of George Soros. The Hungarian-born Soros made a fortune as a hedge fund investor after establishing Quantum Fund on the tax haven island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles in 1973 where he was... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Philanthropy; Populism; Finance; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Political Elections; Personal Development and Career; Leadership Style; Financial Services Industry; Europe; Hungary; United Kingdom; North and Central America; United States

September 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Qatar: Energy for Development

By: Aldo Musacchio, Colin Donovan, Samir Mikati, Rami Sarafa and Abdulla AlMisnad

Despite being the richest country in the world on a per capita basis, for analysts Qatar belongs in the group of emerging markets considered "frontier markets." This case analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the development strategy of this small country as set... View Details

Keywords: Frontier Markets; State-owned Enterprises; State Capitalism; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Development; Sovereign Finance; State Ownership; Development Economics; Energy Industry; Middle East; Qatar

25 Apr 2014
News

Bringing a new funding model to the life sciences industry

Andrew Farquharson (MBA 1999) wants to change the landscape for biomedical financing. The cofounder of VentureHealth, an online funding platform based in Silicon Valley, Farquharson leverages deals with investors who want access to... View Details

01 Oct 2002
News

Dean Clark on Leadership, Educational Priorities, and Funding the Future

This fall marks the launch of the first capital campaign in Harvard Business School's 94-year history, with a goal of raising $500 million by the end of 2005. In the following interview, Dean Kim B. Clark talks about the current state of... View Details

24 Apr 2014
News

Corporate venture funds invested wisely can propel a company forward

In researching R&D funding at large corporations, Josh Lerner (PhD/PMD 62, 1991), the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, noted a recent trend toward decentralizing research functions and slashing research budgets. The... View Details

April 2013 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Norway: The Embarrassment of Riches

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Forest Reinhardt and Senny Munthe-Kaas

In early 2013, Norway was by many accounts the world’s most developed country; it topped various indices for everything from democracy to happiness, had a comprehensive welfare state, and massive oil revenues endowed it with a substantial, and growing, Sovereign Wealth... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Funds; Welfare State; Natural Resources; Internationalization; Dutch Disease; Happiness; Macroeconomics; Energy Sources; Values and Beliefs; Sovereign Finance; Immigration; Welfare; Energy Industry; Norway

September 2013
Case

Homestrings, Inc.: Diaspora-Based Financing and the Crowd Funding of Development

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Homestrings is an online investment platform for overseas diasporas to link financially with their home countries. The founder believes crowd-funding can become a pillar for development, but U.S. regulatory hurdles and resources constraints are substantial. The company... View Details

Keywords: Diasporas; Investments; Regulations; Africa; Crowd-funding; Development Finance; Entrepreneurship; Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Services Industry; Africa; United States

01 Dec 2001
News

New York Club Asks for Donations to September 11 Relief Fund

The HBS Club of Greater New York has established a matching fund in memory of those who were lost and to assist those who are in need as a result of the September terrorist attacks. The club has set aside $10,000 to provide matching... View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

13 Oct 2016
News

Jeff Bussgang Is Managing A New Fund Called The Graduate Syndicate

Keywords: Flybridge; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

04 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Why Private Investors Must Fund 'New Nuclear' Power Right Now

CO2 emissions are forecast to grow for the foreseeable future, according to the United States Energy Information Association. Fossil fuels are winning the race to fill urgent demand for power, especially in Asia. Chart courtesy Joseph... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Lassiter; Energy; Green Technology

2010
Working Paper

Report on the State of Available Data for the Study of International Trade and Foreign Direct Investment

By: Robert C. Feenstra, Robert E. Lipsey, Lee G. Branstetter, C. Fritz Foley, James Harrigan, J. Bradford Jensen, Lori Kletzer, Catherine Mann, Peter K. Schott and Greg C. Wright

This report, prepared for the Committee on Economic Statistics of the American Economic Association, examines the state of available data for the study of international trade and foreign direct investment. Data on values of imports and exports of goods are of high... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Price; Globalization; Policy; Information; Intellectual Property

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01 Jun 2015
News

Research Brief: If State Pensions Clean Up Their Books, Who Pays?

funding levels but that they’ll cut benefits,” Allen says. And that makes both politicians and union bosses unpopular. It’s understandable that state governments, like corporations, lobby for their own... View Details

Keywords: Erin Peterson

October 2022
Case

Spaceport America, Public Sector Risk-taking, and Political Accountability (A)

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Dava Newman, Rebecca Browder and Angela Acocella

Sitting quietly in the heart of the New Mexico desert in the summer of 2014, Spaceport America (SA) housed little of the activity its supporters anticipated when opening its hangar doors in 2011. Despite $1 million in annual rent from Virgin Galactic, British... View Details

Keywords: Funding Sources; Risk and Uncertainty; Public Sector; Business and Government Relations; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Aerospace Industry; New Mexico

27 Oct 2014
News

Supporting new art by bringing private funding to public museums and spaces

Bridgitt Evans (MBA 1986) loves contemporary art for its ability to challenge existing norms. Now she is transforming the industry in much the same spirit with VIA Art Fund— Visionary Initiatives in Art—a new model of funding for... View Details

05 Apr 2013
News

Gift to HBS Funds New Professorship on Gender, Work, Career, and Family

Keywords: Professor Emeritus Alvin J. Silk; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

14 Mar 2023
In Practice

What Does the Failure of Silicon Valley Bank Say About the State of Finance?

institutions. We asked Harvard Business School faculty who study banks: What does the failure of SVB say about the current state of the banking industry? Here’s what they said. Victoria Ivashina: Banks are ‘fundamentally fragile.’ Much... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

Article

What Do State-Owned Development Banks Do? Evidence from BNDES, 2002–09

By: Sergio G. Lazzarini, Aldo Musacchio, Rodrigo Bandeira-de-Mello and Rosilene Marcon

Defendants of state-owned development banks emphasize their role in reducing capital constraints and fostering productive investment; detractors point out that they may benefit politically connected capitalists or bail out inefficient firms. We study the effect of... View Details

Keywords: State Capitalism; Development Banks; Industrial Policy; Banking Industry; Brazil

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2022
Working Paper

The Fed and the Secular Decline in Interest Rates

By: Sebastian Hillenbrand

In this paper I document a striking fact: a narrow window around Fed meetings fully captures the secular decline in U.S. Treasury yields since 1980. By contrast, yield movements outside this window are transitory and wash out over time. This is surprising because the... View Details

Keywords: United States Treasury; Monetary Policy; Yield Curve; Central Banking; Interest Rates; Valuation