Publications

SSRN

2009
Working Paper

Assess, Don't Assume, Part II: Negotiating Implications of Cross-Border Differences in Decision Making, Governance, and Political Economy

By: James K. Sebenius

When facing a cross-border negotiation, the standard preparatory assessments—of the parties, their interests, their no-deal options, opportunities for and barriers to creating and claiming value, the most promising sequence and process design, etc.—should be... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Corporate Governance; Negotiation Process; Organizational Culture; Business and Government Relations

2008
Working Paper

International Financial Integration and Entrepreneurial Firm Activity

By: Laura Alfaro and Andrew Charlton

We explore the relation between international financial integration and the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country. We use a unique firm-level data set in a broad sample of developed and developing countries, which enables us to present both cross-country and... View Details

Keywords: International Financial Integration; Capital Mobility; Firm Entry; Capital Controls; Finance; Integration; Global Range; Capital; Entrepreneurship; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies

July 2003
Background Note

Expropriation in International Business

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Meghan Gallagher-Kernstine

Covers several important expropriation cases in international business from the 20th century and highlights the legal and political difficulties these companies faced. Serves to explain expropriation, to stress the vulnerability of foreign direct investments to... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Global Strategy; Government and Politics; Common Law; Risk Management; Property; Risk and Uncertainty

26 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Learning from Failed Political Leadership

rose-colored glasses will be much better positioned to profit from both positive and negative global developments. In summary, successful business operations in the current global economy necessitate a deeper understanding of View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Editorial

What the Greek Elections Mean for the Economy

By: George Serafeim

Keywords: Europe; European Union; Competitiveness; National Strategy; Politics; Competition; Government and Politics; European Union; Europe

May 2021
Case

The International Space Station, Principal-Agent Problems, and NASA's Quest to Keep Humans in Space

By: Matthew Weinzierl and Mehak Sarang

In building the International Space Station (ISS), NASA opened the door to the development of a robust in-space economy in low-Earth Orbit, and yet the decision to build the station, and continue to extend its lifetime, placed a huge burden on NASA’s Human Spaceflight... View Details

Keywords: Aerospace; Nasa; Space Economy; Principal-agent Theory; Policy; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry

05 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Power of Political Voice: Women’s Political Representation and Crime in India

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer, Anandi Mani, Prachi Mishra & Petia Topalova

February 1996
Background Note

International Institutions

By: David A. Moss, Louis T. Wells Jr. and Lakshmi Gopalan

Describes the IMF, the World Bank Group, the regional development banks, the Bank of International Settlements, the OECD, and the Group of 7. View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; International Finance; Trade; International Relations; Banking Industry

1999
Article

The Conspicuous Absence of Examination Questions Concerning the Great Irish Famine: Political Economy as Science and Ideology

By: Nien-he Hsieh

Keywords: Government and Politics; Economy; Science; Food

Article

Business, Governments and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America since 1970

By: G. Jones and Rachael Comunale

This article contributes to the literature on political risk in business and economic history by examining both new perspectives (risk encountered by companies domestically, rather than risk for foreign investors) and new settings (emerging markets economies in Latin... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Emerging Market; Bribery; Business ＆ Government Relations; Turbulence; Violence; Risk and Uncertainty; Emerging Markets; Crime and Corruption; Business and Government Relations; Business History; India; Latin America

July 2023
Article

Political Strategies for Climate and Environmental Solutions

By: Jonas Meckling and Valerie Karplus

Many of the barriers to progress in addressing environmental problems, such as climate change, are political. We argue that politics should not be seen only as a constraint but be recognized as a target of intervention to advance environmental solutions. We use the... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Management; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges

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2023
Working Paper

The Political Economy of a 'Miracle Cure': The Case of Nebulized Ibuprofen and Its Diffusion in Argentina

By: Sebastian Calónico, Rafael Di Tella and Juan Cruz Lopez Del Valle

We document the diffusion of nebulized ibuprofen in Argentina as a treatment for COVID-19. As the pandemic spread, this clinically unsupported drug reached thousands of patients, even some seriously ill, despite warnings by the regulator and medical societies. Detailed... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Adoption; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Learning

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2025
Working Paper

The Extent and Drivers of Internal Agglomeration of U.S. Multi-Unit Firms

By: Juan Alcácer and Jasmina Chauvin

This paper examines the extent and determinants of internal agglomeration—the spatial clustering of establishments within firms. It introduces a novel methodology that benchmarks a firm’s spatial footprint against that of comparable stand-alone firms, yielding a... View Details

Keywords: Multi-unit Firms; Agglomeration; Spatial Organization; Economies Of Scope; Organizational Design; Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Business Units

26 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Behind India’s Economic and Political Woes

The Indian economy has been teetering on the brink for the past few months. The most manifest of these problems has been the crash of the Indian rupee, which has shown a decline of approximately 20 percent against the US dollar in a short... View Details

Keywords: by Zeenat Potia

15 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Political Dysfunction Makes America Less Competitive

The American economy is a mess, and our broken political system is largely to blame, according to a Harvard Business School US Competitiveness Project report released today. Harvard’s Michael E. Porter, Jan... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2014 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Legislative Choices for U.S. Corporate Tax Reform

By: Robert C. Pozen and Eric Lonstein

This case asks students to wear the hat of a policymaker to explore the politically charged issues around corporate tax reform in the U.S. View Details

Keywords: Tax Accounting; Policy-making; Political Economy; Policy; Taxation; United States

April 2004 (Revised August 2004)
Teaching Note

BuildingBlocks International

BuildingBlocks International (BBI) plans to accomplish its mission to help children in developing countries succeed in school by bringing management expertise to local organizations. Two years after founding BBI, however, the team hasn't figured out exactly how to make... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Developing Countries and Economies; Sales

2024
Other Unpublished Work

A Proposal for the IMF: A New Instrument of International Liquidity Provision for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies

By: Laura Alfaro, Guillermo Calvo, José de Gregorio, Augusto de la Torre, Pablo Guidotti, Enrique Mendoza, Ernesto Talvi, Liliana Rojas-Suarez and Andrés Velasco

This paper addresses a critical flaw in the international financial system: the failure to address the inherent asymmetry between countries that issue reserve currencies and those that do not, leaving the latter vulnerable during systemic liquidity crises. We propose... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; International Finance; Developing Countries and Economies; Latin America

March 2006
Module Note

International Regulatory Regimes

By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs

Describes the seventh module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. The module focuses on how national and international regulatory regimes influence financial decisions. The module explores how national regulatory regimes interact, the... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; International Finance; Decisions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Ventures; Teaching; International Relations; Education Industry