Publications

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

anticorruption ratings are domiciled in countries with low corruption risk ratings and strong anticorruption enforcement, operate in high corruption risk industries, have recently faced a corruption... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 2018
Case

African Bank Investments Limited (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Less than a year after joining the board of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL), the newest director finds himself in difficult discussions with other directors about removing the struggling company’s CEO. The case is set in South Africa in mid-2014 as shares in... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Personal Finance; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Insurance; Leadership; Management; Risk Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; South Africa

February 2025
Article

Disclosure, Humanizing, and Contextual Vulnerability of Generative AI Chatbots

By: Julian De Freitas and I. Glenn Cohen

In the wake of recent advancements in generative AI, regulatory bodies are trying to keep pace. One key decision is whether to require app makers to disclose the use of generative AI-powered chatbots in their products. We suggest that some generative AI-based chatbots... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Applications and Software; Well-being

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21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

Treasury has proposed that systemic risks be monitored by a newly formed Financial Services Oversight Council, with the Fed becoming the primary regulator of all institutions posing such risks. I disagree... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

studies drivers of regulatory behavior as well as the resulting decision-making process of managers within regulated organizations. In the paper The Effects of Media Slant on Firm Behavior, forthcoming in the Journal of Financial... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

02 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

The Role of Government When All Else Fails

In When All Else Fails: Government as the Ultimate Risk Manager, David A. Moss explores government's role as insurer of last resort in everything from crafting consumer protection law to bailing out airlines after September 11th. He... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

02 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 3, 2008

spillover effects. In the domain of private politics, shareholder resolutions filed against a firm, and against others in its industry, increase its propensity to acquiesce to these shareholder requests. Similarly, in the realm of public politics, the threat of state... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2011
Chapter

The Economics of Housing Finance Reform

By: David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

This paper analyzes the two leading types of proposals for reform of the housing finance system: (i) broad-based, explicit, priced government guarantees of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and (ii) privatization. Both proposals have drawbacks. Properly-priced... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Housing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics

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03 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?

Keywords: by Bo Becker & Todd Milbourn; Financial Services

19 Jan 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

why. Key concepts include: Regulations and laws offer little guidance about what specifically boards should do, and, given this lack of specificity, most boards have gradually developed an implicit understanding of what their job should... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

27 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 27, 2018

forthcoming Harvard Journal on Legislation From the Digital to the Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Abbey Stemler Abstract—Online marketplaces have transformed how we shop, travel,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2011 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey - Managing in the Shadow of Health Care Reform

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Raffaella Sadun and Richard G. Hamermesh

Per the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which President Obama signed in 2010, states would be required to create state-wide health insurance marketplaces - the Health Benefit Exchanges (HBEs) - in which individuals and small employers could choose... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Emerging Markets; Risk and Uncertainty; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; New Jersey

22 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Reading the Financial Crisis Warning Signs: Credit Markets and the 'Red-Zone'

post-crisis menu of regulations by and large has been effective.” Layne: How do the stock markets come into play here? They are setting records. Greenwood: It's not just the credit markets that are doing well, the stock market is also... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Banking

19 Nov 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Management and the Financial Crisis (We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us …)

Keywords: by William A. Sahlman

March 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Case

The Trouble with TCE

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella and Galit Goldstein

Trichloroethylene, or TCE, was a chemical used by tens of thousands of businesses in the United States. It was an affordable tool for many. Yet, TCE had been associated with important health risks, including cancer and autoimmune disease. TCE potentially posed other... View Details

Keywords: Trichloroethylene; Toxicity; Lobbying; Chemicals; Health Disorders; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Ethics; Business and Government Relations; Chemical Industry; United States

April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details