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Business, Government & the International Economy

Business, Government & the International Economy

  • Faculty
  • Curriculum
  • Seminars & Conferences
  • Awards & Honors
  • Doctoral Students
Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students
    • May 2025
    • Case

    The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve

    By: Sophus A. Reinert, Mattias Fibiger and Sue Jia

    • May 2025
    • Case

    The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve

    By: Sophus A. Reinert, Mattias Fibiger and Sue Jia

    • 2025
    • Working Paper

    Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs

    By: Alberto Cavallo, Paola Llamas and Franco Vazquez

    This paper examines the short-run impact of the 2025 U.S. tariffs on consumer prices using a unique integration of high-frequency retail pricing data, product-level country-of-origin information, and detailed tariff classifications. By linking daily prices from major U.S. retailers to Harmonized System (HS) codes and import origins, we construct custom price indices that isolate the direct effects of tariff changes across product categories and trading partners. Our analysis reveals rapid pricing responses, though their magnitude remains modest relative to the announced tariff rates and varies by country of origin. Both imported and domestic goods are affected, suggesting broader pricing and supply chain spillovers. These findings offer timely evidence for policymakers, businesses, and consumers navigating the immediate consequences of trade policy changes.

    • 2025
    • Working Paper

    Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs

    By: Alberto Cavallo, Paola Llamas and Franco Vazquez

    This paper examines the short-run impact of the 2025 U.S. tariffs on consumer prices using a unique integration of high-frequency retail pricing data, product-level country-of-origin information, and detailed tariff classifications. By linking daily prices from major U.S. retailers to Harmonized System (HS) codes and import origins, we construct...

    • 2025
    • Working Paper

    Extractive Taxation and the French Revolution

    By: Tommaso Giommoni, Gabriel Loumeau and Marco Tabellini

    We study the fiscal determinants of the French Revolution, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the salt tax—a large source of royal revenues and one of the most extractive forms of taxation of the Ancien Régime. Implementing a Regression Discontinuity design (RDD), we find that parts of France subject to a higher salt tax experienced more revolts against the monarchy between 1750 and 1789. These effects already appear in the 1760s, but become stronger over time and peak in the 1780s. Combining the RD model with variation in local weather conditions during the 1780s, we document that droughts amplify the effects of the salt tax on revolts by increasing wheat prices and activating latent discontent. Then, we connect the discontent generated by the salt tax to the French Revolution. First, we provide evidence that riots spread across space through a process of contagion that is stronger in high tax areas. Second, we show that areas burdened by a higher salt tax report more complaints against the salt tax in the list of grievances collected by the king in the spring of 1789. Third, we document that legislators representing areas with a higher salt tax are more likely to demand the end of the monarchy and to support the death penalty for the king.

    • 2025
    • Working Paper

    Extractive Taxation and the French Revolution

    By: Tommaso Giommoni, Gabriel Loumeau and Marco Tabellini

    We study the fiscal determinants of the French Revolution, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the salt tax—a large source of royal revenues and one of the most extractive forms of taxation of the Ancien Régime. Implementing a Regression Discontinuity design (RDD), we find that parts of France subject to a higher salt tax experienced more...

About the Unit

The BGIE Unit conducts research on, and teaches about, the economic, political, social, and legal environment in which business operates. The Unit includes scholars trained in economics, political science, and history; in its work, it draws on perspectives from all three of these disciplines.

The following demonstrates one way of classifying the approaches the Unit takes to learning and teaching.

  • The Unit examines the “rules” and policies established by government and other non-business institutions that affect business in the United States.
  • The Unit turns to history to understand the origins of today’s business environment as well as some of the alternatives that have emerged from time to time.
  • The Unit examines other countries’ business environments and their historical development.
  • The BGIE group is deeply interested in the impact of globalization and the way rules are emerging to govern international economic transactions as globalization proceeds.

Recent Publications

Liz Truss and the Thatcher Legacy: Markets and Fiscal Dominance in the United Kingdom

By: Rafael Di Tella
  • May 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Di Tella, Rafael. "Liz Truss and the Thatcher Legacy: Markets and Fiscal Dominance in the United Kingdom." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 725-041, May 2025.

The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Mattias Fibiger and Sue Jia
  • May 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Educators
Related
Reinert, Sophus A., Mattias Fibiger, and Sue Jia. "The Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve." Harvard Business School Case 725-035, May 2025.

Brazil's Messias? The Lava Jato Corruption Scandal, the Recession, and the Rise of Bolsonaro

By: Rafael Di Tella and Jose Liberti
  • May 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Teaching Note for HBS Case 719-069.
Citation
Purchase
Related
Di Tella, Rafael, and Jose Liberti. "Brazil's Messias? The Lava Jato Corruption Scandal, the Recession, and the Rise of Bolsonaro." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 725-033, May 2025.

High Stakes: A Framework for Geopolitical Risk Management

By: Meg Rithmire and David Fagan
  • 2025 |
  • Report |
  • Faculty Research
This report provides a data-based assessment of how U.S. companies perceive geopolitical risk and articulates a recommended decision-making process and framework to manage such risk. The research reflected in the report indicates that various concerns related to China are most prominent in reshaping the global business landscape and the presentation of risk for U.S. companies. The primary source of risk for businesses is the transformation of China’s political economy under the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to focus on security, to which the U.S. has responded with enhanced laws and regulations, as well as rhetorical instruments (such as Congressional statements) that can heighten reputational risk for businesses. Our recommendations are that companies exposed to China and US-China competition adopt a governance framework that is well-informed, holistic, enduring, authoritative, and tailored to review strategic and national security risks in a structured way.
Keywords: Globalization; International Relations; Business or Company Management; Risk Management
Citation
Read Now
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and David Fagan. "High Stakes: A Framework for Geopolitical Risk Management." Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Washington, DC, USA, 2025.

Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs

By: Alberto Cavallo, Paola Llamas and Franco Vazquez
  • 2025 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
This paper examines the short-run impact of the 2025 U.S. tariffs on consumer prices using a unique integration of high-frequency retail pricing data, product-level country-of-origin information, and detailed tariff classifications. By linking daily prices from major U.S. retailers to Harmonized System (HS) codes and import origins, we construct custom price indices that isolate the direct effects of tariff changes across product categories and trading partners. Our analysis reveals rapid pricing responses, though their magnitude remains modest relative to the announced tariff rates and varies by country of origin. Both imported and domestic goods are affected, suggesting broader pricing and supply chain spillovers. These findings offer timely evidence for policymakers, businesses, and consumers navigating the immediate consequences of trade policy changes.
Keywords: Tariffs; Trade; Price; Inflation and Deflation
Citation
Read Now
Related
Cavallo, Alberto, Paola Llamas, and Franco Vazquez. "Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs." Working Paper, April 2025.

Extractive Taxation and the French Revolution

By: Tommaso Giommoni, Gabriel Loumeau and Marco Tabellini
  • 2025 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
We study the fiscal determinants of the French Revolution, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the salt tax—a large source of royal revenues and one of the most extractive forms of taxation of the Ancien Régime. Implementing a Regression Discontinuity design (RDD), we find that parts of France subject to a higher salt tax experienced more revolts against the monarchy between 1750 and 1789. These effects already appear in the 1760s, but become stronger over time and peak in the 1780s. Combining the RD model with variation in local weather conditions during the 1780s, we document that droughts amplify the effects of the salt tax on revolts by increasing wheat prices and activating latent discontent. Then, we connect the discontent generated by the salt tax to the French Revolution. First, we provide evidence that riots spread across space through a process of contagion that is stronger in high tax areas. Second, we show that areas burdened by a higher salt tax report more complaints against the salt tax in the list of grievances collected by the king in the spring of 1789. Third, we document that legislators representing areas with a higher salt tax are more likely to demand the end of the monarchy and to support the death penalty for the king.
Keywords: Extractive Taxation; Regime Change; French Revolution; State Capacity; Taxation; History; Government Administration; Attitudes; Public Opinion
Citation
Read Now
Related
Giommoni, Tommaso, Gabriel Loumeau, and Marco Tabellini. "Extractive Taxation and the French Revolution." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-047, April 2025. (Featured at VoxEU.)

Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News

By: Vincent Pons, Jesse M. Shapiro, Bharat Anand and Susan Pinckney
  • March 2025 (Revised April 2025) |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
The case examines the Dominion Voting Systems and Fox News defamation settlement based upon statements made on air in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
Keywords: (General) Management; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Transition; Crime and Corruption; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Demographics; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Finance; Cost; Governance; Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Policy; Political Elections; Business History; Information; Law; Legal Liability; Laws and Statutes; Management; Marketing; Advertising; Media; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Society; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States
Citation
Educators
Related
Pons, Vincent, Jesse M. Shapiro, Bharat Anand, and Susan Pinckney. "Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News." Harvard Business School Case 725-029, March 2025. (Revised April 2025.)

Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of Chavism

By: Natalia Garbiras-Diaz
  • March 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: Venezuela
Citation
Educators
Related
Garbiras-Diaz, Natalia. "Venezuela: The Rise and Fall of Chavism." Harvard Business School Case 725-034, March 2025.
More Publications

In the News

    • 13 May 2025
    • Washington Post

    April Inflation Rose Slightly, but at a Slower Annual Pace

    Re: Alberto Cavallo
    • 09 May 2025
    • Washington Post

    Chinese Exports, Aided by Tariff Dodging, Defy Trump’s Trade Pressure

    Re: Jaya Wen
    • 09 May 2025
    • New York Times

    ‘How Do I Survive?’: Tariffs Threaten U.S. Market for Traditional Chinese Medicine

    Re: Jaya Wen
→More Faculty News

HBS Working Knowledge

    • 28 Oct 2024

    Latino Voters Have Grown More Politically Divided. That’s Not Surprising.

    Re: Vincent Pons & Jesse M. Shapiro
    • 24 Oct 2024

    Charting the US-China Trade War: What Does 'Made in Vietnam' Mean?

    Re: Ebehi Iyoha & Jaya Y. Wen
    • 07 Oct 2024

    Election 2024: Why Demographics Won't Predict the Next President

    Re: Vincent Pons & Jesse M. Shapiro
→More Working Knowledge Articles

Harvard Business Publishing

    • February 13, 2025
    • Article

    Research: The Costs of Circumventing Tariffs

    By: Jaya Y. Wen, Ebehi Iyoha, Edmund Malesky and Sung-Ju Wu
    • January 2025
    • Case

    Barilla: Feeding the Future

    By: Sophus A. Reinert, Forest L. Reinhardt, Dante Roscini and Carlota Moniz
    • 2025
    • Book

    Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier

    By: Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau
→More Harvard Business Publishing

Seminars & Conferences

There are no upcoming events.

→More Seminars & Conferences

Faculty Positions

Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.
→Learn More

Contact Information

Business, Government & the International Economy Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
BGIE@hbs.edu

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