Publications

Article

Pre-colonial Ethnic Institutions and Contemporary African Development

By: Stelios Michalopoulos and Elias Papaioannou

We investigate the role of deeply rooted pre-colonial ethnic institutions in shaping comparative regional development within African countries. We combine information on the spatial distribution of ethnicities before colonization with regional variation in contemporary... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; Development Economics; Local Range; Government and Politics; Africa

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June 2016 (Revised January 2025)
Case

China: The New 'New Normal'

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

Keywords: Economic Development; Politics; Development Economics; Government and Politics; China

2017
Working Paper

Cluster Mapping as a Tool for Development

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

This report builds on the foundational work on cluster mapping that Prof. Michael E. Porter has led at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness (ISC), Harvard Business School over the last two decades. He launched the U.S. Cluster Mapping Initiative in the late... View Details

Keywords: Industry Clusters; Development Economics

November 2002 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Central America: Strategy for Economic Integration

By: Michael E. Porter and Niels Ketelhohn

Describes the economic integration efforts of the Central American countries in the late 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Cooperation; Integration; Central America

March 17, 2017
Article

How Economics Can Shape Precision Medicines

By: Ariel Dora Stern, Brian M. Alexander and Amitabh Chandra

Many public and private efforts in coming years will focus on research in precision medicine, developing biomarkers to indicate which patients are likely to benefit from a certain treatment so that others can be spared the cost—financial and physical—of being treated... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Research; Economics; Motivation and Incentives

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18 Nov 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Financial Development and Technology Diffusion

Keywords: by Diego Comin & Ramana Nanda

March 2024
Teaching Note

Teaching Note: Transforming a Region: Gothenburg's path from Shipyards to E-Mobility

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Orjan Solvell

This TN provides guidance on how to leverage the case on Gothenburg's economic evolution and the role of the regional economic development agency in this process. Gothenburg is an old industrial city that has been hit by a number of deep shocks in its history. Its core... View Details

Keywords: Regional Policy; Regional Growth; Cluster; Economic Development; Transition; Economy; Auto Industry; Green Technology Industry; Sweden

January 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

CrossBoundary Energy

By: John Macomber

Almost 500 million people are without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and public utilities are challenged to bring generation and distribution to most of them. Considerable promise exists in “off-grid” or “mini-grid” technologies, notably using renewable... View Details

Keywords: Energy Investing; Economic Development; Renewable Energy; Business Growth and Maturation; Developing Countries and Economies; Project Finance; Emerging Markets; Industry Structures; Infrastructure; Segmentation; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Africa; Tanzania; Ghana

2014
Working Paper

Islam, Inequality, and Pre-Industrial Comparative Development

By: Stelios Michalopoulos, Alireza Naghavi and Giovanni Prarolo

This study explores the interaction between trade and geography in shaping the Islamic economic doctrine and in turn the comparative development of the Muslim world. We build a model where an unequal distribution of land quality in presence of trade opportunities... View Details

Keywords: Islam; Inequality In Land Quality; Wealth Accumulation; Public Good Investment; Conflict; Wealth; Geography; Religion; Trade

November 1999 (Revised May 2000)
Supplement

Data Supplement: Post-War US Economic Statistics

By: Julio J. Rotemberg and Cherie Nursalim

Supplements Tax Cut of 1964 (9-382-078), Nixon's Economic Strategy--1969 (8-378-258), and The Reagan Plan (9-381-173). View Details

Keywords: History; Sovereign Finance; Development Economics; Mathematical Methods; Taxation; Policy; Government Administration; Macroeconomics; United States

May 27, 2020
Editorial

Stable Democracies Better at Fostering Economic Growth

By: Ashish Nanda

Differences across countries in how the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed have led some to raise the broader question of whether democracies are necessarily a good way to organise a society. Research findings clearly show that compared to autocracies, democracies... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Government and Politics

13 Jan 2023 - 14 Jan 2023
Conference Presentation

India’s Quest for Sustainable Growth in a New Global Reality:: The Need for a Region- and Sector-Driven Approach

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Sustainable Growth; Economic Development; Economic Growth; Developing Countries and Economies; Employment; India

26 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Behind India’s Economic and Political Woes

economies, the smaller economies pay the price. The problem is exacerbated by continuing structural weaknesses in developing countries where foreign investments are not necessarily anchored in long-term commitments to infrastructure or... View Details

Keywords: by Zeenat Potia

12 Sep 2024
HBS Seminar

Jose Vasquez, London School of Economics

December 2002
Case

National Economic Accounting: Past, Present, and Future

By: David A. Moss and Sarah A. Brennan

Presents the fundamentals of GDP accounting (including definitions, etc.), examines the history of national accounting, and surveys the international debate over "Green GDP." The first section explains the basic rules and definitions of national economic accounting and... View Details

Keywords: History; Natural Environment; Quality; Accounting; Forecasting and Prediction; Environmental Sustainability; Economy; United States

November 2013 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Doing Business in Cambodia

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Dawn H. Lau

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Cambodia. It highlights Cambodia's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2013 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. View Details

Keywords: Cambodia; Economic Stability; Economic Development; Emerging Markets; Economic Growth; Southeast Asia