Publications

August 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

The Flaxil Label (A)

This case focuses on the 2001 negotiation between Mytex Pharmaceuticals and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The outcome of the negotiation would determine the new label for Mytex's blockbuster drug for arthritis, Flaxil. The negotiation is quite... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Disorders; Product Launch; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Safety; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2020
Article

Unwanted Attention: Swiss Multinationals and the Creation of International Corporate Guidelines in the 1970s

By: Sabine Pitteloud

During the last decade, we have seen an increased opposition to globalization. Within this wave of criticism, firms and more specifically multinational corporations have been major targets, accused of multiple wrongdoings, such as social dumping, fiscal evasion, job... View Details

Keywords: Multinationals; Guidelines; Lobbying; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Global Range; Switzerland

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01 Mar 2016
News

Feedback

December 2015 Deconstructing Draper Re: Golden State of Mind I admire Tim Draper (MBA 1984) for his sustained interest in rebooting public education in California. Too few HBS alums are engaged with public education, no doubt because of the complexity, bureaucracy, and... View Details

August 2022
Article

Availability of New Medicines in the U.S. and Germany From 2004 to 2018

By: Katharina Blankart, Huseyin Naci and Amitabh Chandra

Importance: Germany's unique approach to coverage determination and pricing has ensured that effective medicines remain on the market, often at prices reduced through negotiation. However, less is known about trade-offs of this approach with regard to initial... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Price; Market Timing; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States; Germany

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May 18, 2012
Article

Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss

By: David I Levine, Michael W. Toffel and Matthew S. Johnson

Controversy surrounds occupational health and safety regulators, with some observers claiming that workplace regulations damage firms' competitiveness and destroy jobs and others arguing that they make workplaces safer at little cost to employers and employees. We... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Occupational Safety; Evaluation; Regression; Matching; Difference In Differences; Safety; Health; Working Conditions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Advantage; Performance; Manufacturing Industry; California

July 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

The Profession of the Law

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Chad Carr

This note reviews the professional responsibilities and obligations of lawyers In the United States, explains how those standards affect client relationships and, by summarizing rules for resolution of conflicts and withdrawal, sets the stage for a discussion of the... View Details

Keywords: Attorney and Client Relationships; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Ethics; Standards; Legal Services Industry; United States

September 2011
Article

How Did Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings?

The credit rating industry has historically been dominated by just two agencies, Moody's and S&P, leading to longstanding legislative and regulatory calls for increased competition. The material entry of a third rating agency (Fitch) to the competitive landscape offers... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Forecasting and Prediction; Theory

19 Feb 2020
News

Capitol Ideas to Combat Climate Change

Cong. Don Beyer, Anne Kelly (HKS 1996), Elizabeth Lewis (MBA 2006), Sarah Wright (MBA 1997), Prof. Michael Toffel, and Matt Sonnesyn (HKS 2002). Fifty years ago, the Clean Air Act passed the United States Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support; in the Senate,... View Details

Keywords: April White; photos by Jack Conroy

01 Sep 2008
News

The MBA Turns 100

Six months before Harvard Business School officially opened in October 1908, the School had no classrooms, no faculty, and no curriculum. But its proponents had a Big Idea: Create a professional school designed to train managers for a rapidly industrializing economy,... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

Web

Trade Catalogs - The Art of American Advertising

hours in the workweek, and the rise in per capita income, more Americans now had the time and money to enjoy leisure activities once considered the privilege of the upper class. The Progressive Era of social activism and political reform... View Details

20 Oct 2015
First Look

October 20, 2015

as for employees looking to join a young high-potential startup. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815074-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 714-027 Reform in the Chicago Public Schools In 2012, the Chicago... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2009
Article

Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies

By: Erin Marie Reid and Michael W. Toffel

The challenges associated with climate change will require governments, citizens, and firms to work collaboratively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a task that requires information on companies' emissions levels, risks, and reduction opportunities. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Pollutants; Risk and Uncertainty; Business and Shareholder Relations; Management Practices and Processes; Social Issues; Corporate Disclosure; Values and Beliefs; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics

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15 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 15, 2008

privatization fell by 7.5 percent relative to private firms. We interpret this as evidence of investor belief of policy irreversibility, where reforms may reach a stage beyond which future regimes have difficulty reversing those policies.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Malcolm Life Enhances Its Variable Annuities

By: Robert C. Pozen and David J. Pearlman

The case involves an insurance CEO choosing between different designs for a variable annuity product in light of hedging, marketing, and pricing issues. The case provides students with background on the economics and regulation of life insurance and variable annuities.... View Details

Keywords: Annuities; Insurance; Investment Return; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Design; Insurance Industry; United States

November 2003 (Revised July 2014)
Case

'Walking on a Tightrope': Maintaining London as a Financial Center

By: Geoffrey Jones and Meghan Gallagher-Kernstine

Focuses on the development of London as a leading international financial center and the difficulties it faces maintaining its status. Examines London's history as a financial center from Roman times to the present day. London's position in the 19th century rested on... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Geographic Location; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business History; Status and Position; Financial Services Industry; Europe; London

2000
Comment

Restructuring Bank Regulation

By: B. C. Esty

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