Publications

September 1997 (Revised October 1997)
Case

French Pension System, The: On the Verge of Retirement?

By: David A. Moss, Anne Dias and Bertrand O. Stephann

Surveys the French pension system, its particular institutional characteristics, and some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing French reformers. Like almost every other industrialized country, France has a large pay-as-you-go public pension system that... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Compensation and Benefits; Capital Markets; Economic Growth; Labor; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Welfare; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Public Administration Industry; France

November 2019
Case

Hapag-Lloyd AG:Complying with IMO 2020

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

A new environmental regulation known as IMO 2020 was creating what one industry analyst called “the biggest shakeup for the oil and shipping industries in decades.” According to the new regulation, all ocean-going ships would have to limit their sulfur emissions by... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Ship Transportation; Strategic Planning; Game Theory; Pollutants; Supply Chain; Corporate Accountability; Capital Budgeting; Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governance Compliance; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Germany

2025
Working Paper

Blockchain Adoption and Audit Quality

By: Mei Luo, Daniel Rabetti and Shuangchen Yu

This study examines the impact of blockchain adoption in the corporate setting. Specifically, we provide comprehensive empirical support to recent theory (Cao, Cong, and Young, 2024) proposing that blockchain adoption positively affects endogenous audit quality and... View Details

Keywords: Blockchain; Accounting Audits; Technology Adoption; Financial Reporting; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; China

SSRN

July 2021
Case

Amazon HQ2

By: James K. Sebenius and Ben Cook

Amazon’s failed bid for a second headquarters location (“HQ2”) in Long Island City, New York offers many lessons for negotiators looking to avoid similar high-profile defeats in strategically important deals. The company’s project – which promised to bring billions of... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Negotiation; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Problems and Challenges

2018
Book

American Fair Trade: Proprietary Capitalism, Corporatism, and the 'New Competition,' 1890–1940

By: Laura Phillips Sawyer

American Fair Trade explores the contested political and legal meanings of the term fair trade from the late nineteenth century through the New Deal era. This history of American capitalism argues that business associations partnered with regulators to... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Competition; Policy; Fairness; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

May 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

World Trade Organization, The: After the Seattle Protests

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met in Seattle to plan the next round of trade negotiations, only to face protestors and fail to reach agreement on an agenda. This case discusses the evolution of the WTO, its rules, and some of the controversy... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Agreements and Arrangements; Failure; Northwestern United States

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

Mexico's long history with authoritarian government shaped its judicial, taxation, and property rights institutions. These institutions, the authors argue, cannot be reformed with the stroke of a pen. Moreover, they represent powerful... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

demonstrate the catalytic role of committed state elites, who introduced incremental reforms over three decades. These officials operated beneath the political radar, layering small-scale initiatives on top of the mainstream school... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Oct 2016
First Look

October 11, 2016

significantly larger nominal bond risk premia and borrow less in local currency. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51720 Tort Reform and Innovation By: Galasso, Alberto, and Hong Luo Abstract—Current... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2022
Supplement

Freelancer, Ltd. Case Supplement

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500 companies,... View Details

Keywords: Labor Markets; Freelancers; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Employment; Digital Platforms; Global Range; Adoption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Employment Industry; Information Industry; Australia; United States; Philippines

July 2009
Teaching Note

Targanta Therapeutics: Hitting a Moving Target (TN)

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

Teaching Note for [709002]. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Development; Business Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Selection and Staffing; Health Testing and Trials; Resource Allocation; Biotechnology Industry

February 2001
Case

Free Trade vs. Protectionism: The Great Corn-Laws Debate

By: David A. Moss, Kevin P. Brennan, Matthew B. Gorin and Marian Lee

Examines the extended conflict between free traders and protectionists in nineteenth-century Britain. It culminates with Prime Minister Robert Peel's decision at the end of 1845 about whether to repeal the Corn Laws, a series of acts that had protected British... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government Legislation; Change Management; Competitive Advantage; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Market Entry and Exit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Great Britain

Spring 2024
Article

The Evolution of Banking in the 21st Century: Evidence and Regulatory Implications

By: Samuel Gregory Hanson, Victoria Ivashina, Laura Nicolae, Jeremy C. Stein, Adi Sunderam and Daniel K. Tarullo

As revealed by the failures of three regional banks in the spring of 2023, bank runs are not a thing of the past. To inform the ongoing discussion of the appropriate regulatory response, we examine trends in the banking industry over the last twenty-five years. On the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Financial Crisis; Assets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Condition; Banking Industry

1995
Chapter

Contending Views of Quality Management in Health Care: Implications for Competition and Regulation

By: D. Blumenthal and Richard Bohmer

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics; Health Industry

June 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Biogen and the Aduhelm Melee

By: Amitabh Chandra and Lauren Gunasti

Alzheimer's Disease is a devastating condition affecting millions of Americans. At this time, there is no cure. In 2021, Biogen's Aduhelm (aducanumab) received FDA approval under the accelerated approval pathway after a controversial approval process.

This... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Valuation; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry

Article

People Make It So Hard to Ditch Plastic Straws

By: Scott Duke Kominers

Rarely has a minor consumer product received more vilification than the plastic straw. As a symbol of human wastefulness and our careless disregard for the environment, straws are the near-perfect villain. You use a plastic straw once and toss it, but it stays with us... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Consumer Behavior

Read Now

1993
Chapter

Bank of America and Deregulation: The Great Turnaround

By: R. H.K. Vietor

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

April 2010 (Revised May 2012)
Background Note

Note: Disclosure, Regulation, and Taxation of Hedge Funds versus Mutual Funds in the U.S.

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Robert C. Pozen and Melissa Anne Hammerle

This note provides students with an explanation of the regulatory and tax framework for hedge funds vs. mutual funds in the U.S. View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2008 (Revised April 2008)
Supplement

Opening Dot EU (B)

By: Benjamin Edelman

EURid considers possible market mechanisms to allocate initial domain names within the Internet's newly-created "dot EU." European Union regulations and community norms substantially constrain EURid's approach, preventing the use of the most natural economic mechanisms... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Internet and the Web; Resource Allocation; Auctions; Information Industry; Europe