Publications

2023
Working Paper

The Limits of Algorithmic Measures of Race in Studies of Outcome Disparities

By: David S. Scharfstein and Sergey Chernenko

We show that the use of algorithms to predict race has significant limitations in measuring and understanding the sources of racial disparities in finance, economics, and other contexts. First, we derive theoretically the direction and magnitude of measurement bias in... View Details

Keywords: Racial Disparity; Paycheck Protection Program; Measurement Error; AI and Machine Learning; Race; Measurement and Metrics; Equality and Inequality; Prejudice and Bias; Forecasting and Prediction; Outcome or Result

SSRN

May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Instant Messaging

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Explores the usage and technology of instant messaging (IM). IM enables two or more users to communicate almost instantaneously over the Internet with short, private text messages. Most IM service providers chose to remain proprietary and, therefore, a user of most IM... View Details

Keywords: Network Effects; Standards; Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Web Services Industry

2009
Working Paper

An Ounce of Prevention: The Power of Public Risk Management in Stabilizing the Financial System

By: David A. Moss

The magnitude of the current financial crisis reflects the failure of an economic and regulatory philosophy that had proved increasingly influential in policy circles over the past three decades.

This paper suggests (1) that contrary to the prevailing wisdom,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financial Institutions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk Management; Business and Government Relations; Balance and Stability

March 2012
Article

Fixing What's Wrong with U. S. Politics

By: David A. Moss

In America today there's a growing sense that the political system is broken and that its ineffectiveness is a major threat to U.S. competitiveness. Why do so many think the political system is not working? Research shows that in Congress, Republicans and Democrats are... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; System; Conflict Management; Performance Productivity; Policy; Public Administration Industry; United States

June 2007
Article

Does Employment Protection Reduce Productivity? Evidence from U.S. States

By: David H Autor, William R. Kerr and Adriana D. Kugler

Theory predicts that mandated employment protections may reduce productivity by distorting production choices. Firms facing (non-Coasean) worker dismissal costs will curtail hiring below efficient levels and retain unproductive workers, both of which should affect... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Production; Selection and Staffing; Cost; Employment; Capital; Performance Productivity; United States

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

assumptions that countries can accumulate reserves and borrow internationally using their own currency. As opposed to traditional sovereign-debt models, asset-valuation effects occasioned by currency fluctuations act to absorb global... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2021
Working Paper

Cognitive Biases: Mistakes or Missing Stakes?

By: Benjamin Enke, Uri Gneezy, Brian Hall, David Martin, Vadim Nelidov, Theo Offerman and Jeroen van de Ven

Despite decades of research on heuristics and biases, empirical evidence on the effect of large incentives—as present in relevant economic decisions—on cognitive biases is scant. This paper tests the effect of incentives on four widely documented biases: base rate... View Details

Keywords: Cognitive Biases; Incentives; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Performance

24 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Developing Your Next CEO for the Family Business

A good book on CEO succession is The CEO Within by my Harvard Business School colleague Joe Bower. Bower studied how companies perform after hiring a new CEO, noting whether the successor had been recruited from inside or outside the... View Details

Keywords: Re: Mandi Nerenberg; Retail; Auto

25 Aug 2015
First Look

First Look Tuesday

monetary effect of athletic success to many academic institutions in the United States. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49494 Forthcoming IMF Economic Review An Evaluation of Money Market Fund Reform Proposals By: Hanson, Samuel G.,... View Details

January 2017 (Revised April 2017)
Supplement

Bridj and the Business of Urban Mobility (B): A New Model in Kansas City

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

In late 2016, Bridj was expanding its digital platform to help address urban mobility problems faced by cities across the country and the world. Its founder and CEO, Matt George, weighed up several possible strategies for growth as he aimed to responsibly build the... View Details

March 2017
Article

Challenges for Empirical Research on RPM

By: Alexander MacKay and David A. Smith

This article discusses the empirical challenges that researchers face when demonstrating the existence and effects of resale price maintenance (RPM). We outline three approaches for finding price effects of RPM and the corresponding hurdles in data and methodology. We... View Details

Keywords: Antitrust Issues And Policies; Antitrust Law; Resale Price Maintenance; Welfare Economics; Price; Competition; Research

27 Feb 2024
Blog Post

Fighting Cancer with a Novel Cell Therapy: Ananya Zutshi (MS/MBA '21)

originally planned to pursue a Ph.D., but instead spent four years at Catalent Pharma Solutions, a leading pharma/biotech contract manufacturing development organization. Surrounded by potential career paths in the industry, Zutshi... View Details

December 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Olam: On a New Course

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Mary Shelman

From modest beginnings as a cashew trader in Nigeria, Olam, founded by Indian nationals in 1989, has grown into a leading global agricultural trading company, with annual revenues of $14 billion. The company recently has begun investing in farms and in the production... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Leadership; Customer Value and Value Chain; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Competitive Advantage; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria

Educators

October 2022
Article

Amplification in the Evaluation of Multiple Emotional Expressions over Time

By: Amit Goldenberg, Jonas Schöne, Zi Huang, Timothy D. Sweeny, Desmond C. Ong, Timothy Brady, Maria M. Robinson, David Levari, Jamil Zaki and James J. Gross

Social interactions are dynamic and unfold over time. To make sense of social interactions, people must aggregate sequential information into summary, global evaluations. But how do people do this? Here, to address this question, we conducted nine studies (N = 1,583)... View Details

Keywords: Social Interactions; Facial Expressions; Emotions; Behavior; Perception

June 2008
Article

The Market for Mergers and the Boundaries of the Firm

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and David Robinson

We relate the property rights theory of the firm to empirical regularities in the market for mergers and acquisitions. We first show that high market-to-book acquirers typically do not purchase low market-to-book targets. Instead, mergers pair together firms with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Assets; Investment; Property; Mathematical Methods; Boundaries

01 Oct 1997
News

High Fives

family, my close friends, and my colleagues at Blackstone. I looked around the room and felt very moved by how lucky I've been.” David A. Spina President and Chief Operating Officer State Street Corporation... View Details

07 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 7

of patients in the light of emerging knowledge? Purchase this note:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/811001-PDF-ENG Enman Oil, Inc. (A) David F. HawkinsHarvard Business School Case 111-042 Company pursues ways to reduce its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2007
Case

Akshaya Patra: Feeding India's Schoolchildren

By: David M. Upton, Christine Ellis, Sarah Lucas and Amy Yamner

Describes a highly successful effort by an Indian Charity to feed poor schoolchildren at lunchtime. This provides two significant benefits. It improves nutrition for the children, and helps keep them in school since the provided meal is occasionally the only meal they... View Details

Keywords: Food; Service Operations; Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Food and Beverage Industry; India

Educators

April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

UNext: Business Education and e-Learning

By: Michael G. Rukstad, David J. Collis and Tyrell Levine

UNEXT has signed agreements with Columbia, Stanford, Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, and the London School of Economics to create online business courses. The company is backed by Michael Milken and Larry Ellison and has four Nobel laureates on its advisory board. Describes... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Competition; Disruptive Innovation; Performance Efficiency; Higher Education; Learning; Education Industry