Asia
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- 18 Dec 2019
- Book
6 Skills That Wise Companies Harness for World-Changing Innovation
What does it take to truly change the world? In The Wise Company, Hirotaka Takeuchi shares the practices that help leading companies turn knowledge into lasting breakthroughs. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Dec 2019
- Research & Ideas
Taking on the Taboos That Keep Women Out of India's Workforce
Giving women in rural India more control over household finances reduces the social stigma of working, says research by Natalia Rigol. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 14 Nov 2019
- Book
Lifting the Lid on Turkey's Hidden Business History
The business history of modern Turkey has been largely hidden from view, but a new book edited by Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan pulls back the covers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Nov 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Tariff Passthrough at the Border and at the Store: Evidence from US Trade Policy
Collecting and analyzing microdata on prices and the reaction of importers, retailers, and exporters to US trade policy since 2018, this study finds most of the tariffs’ incidence rests with the US firms.
- 29 Oct 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Crowdsourcing Memories: Mixed Methods Research by Cultural Insiders-Epistemological Outsiders
Research on the traumatic 1947 partition of British India has most often been carried out by scholars in the humanities and qualitative social sciences. This article presents mixed methods research and analysis to explore tensions within current scholarship and to inspire new understandings of the Partition, and more generally, mass migrations and displacement.
- 14 Oct 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Undisclosed Debt Sustainability
Presenting a scenario in which non-Paris Club lending and borrowing is fully disclosed, this study illustrates that transparency has potential effects of decreased debt sustainability for investors such as China, and significant welfare gains for recipient countries. Effects are particularly strong if the debt is large.
- 10 Aug 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Varieties of Outward Chinese Capital: Domestic Politics Status and Globalization of Chinese Firms
Most popular and scholarly writing about China’s global push overemphasizes the power of the state. This paper explains how three types of domestic Chinese capital—state capital, private capital, and crony capital—differ in political vulnerability and pursue globalization in different ways. All prefer capital openness, but they do so for different reasons.
- 07 Aug 2019
- Research & Ideas
Big Infrastructure May Not Always Produce Big Benefits
Government spending on bridges, roads, and other infrastructure pieces does not always ignite economic good times, say William Kerr and Ramana Nanda. The key question: Are financiers nearby? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 27 Jun 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
The Effect of Payment Choices on Online Retail: Evidence from the 2016 Indian Demonetization
Online sellers in many emerging markets are in the early stages of a shift from cash-based payments to digital payments. Findings from this study of a leading Indian online retailer show that firms may enjoy gains from consumer demand on top of operational gains resulting from payment digitization.
- 11 Jun 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Throwing the Baby Out with the Drinking Water: Unintended Consequences of Arsenic Mitigation Efforts in Bangladesh
In this study, households that were encouraged to switch water sources to avoid arsenic exposure experienced a significant rise in infant and child mortality, likely due to diarrheal disease from exposure to unsafe alternatives. Public health interventions should carefully consider access to alternatives when engaging in mass behavior change efforts.
- 04 Jun 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
Israel Turns 70: Does it Need a Rebrand?
When market research revealed that many people associated Israel with military and political conflict, the country knew a rebrand was in order. In this podcast, Elie Ofek discusses the campaign's results. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Apr 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Can Biometric Tracking Improve Healthcare Provision and Data Quality? Experimental Evidence from Tuberculosis Control in India
This paper shows the benefits of biometric technology for strengthening service delivery and improving reliability of government data. The technology improved productivity of health workers operating tuberculosis treatment centers and decreased misreporting.
- 02 Apr 2019
- Working Paper Summaries
Managerial Quality and Productivity Dynamics
Which managerial skills, traits, and practices matter most for productivity? This study of a large garment firm in India analyzes the integration of features of managerial quality into a production process characterized by learning by doing.
- 11 Mar 2019
- Research & Ideas
Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?
Countries such as Israel now realize they need to engage in public diplomacy as well as foreign diplomacy, and in place branding, not just political advocacy, says Elie Ofek. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 31 Jan 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
How Wegmans Became a Leader in Improving Food Safety
Ray Goldberg discusses how the CEO of the Wegmans grocery chain faced a food safety issue and then helped the industry become more proactive. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 04 Oct 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Corruption, Government Subsidies, and Innovation: Evidence from China
Governments subsidize a growing number of innovation efforts, many of which may face the challenge of corruption. Using Chinese data, this study finds corruption-related distortions in government R&D subsidies, which diminished after the 2012 anti-corruption campaign and rotation of provincial officials. It provide insights for designing effective R&D subsidy programs.
- 27 Sep 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Ratcheting, Competition, and the Diffusion of Technological Change: The Case of Televisions Under an Energy Efficiency Program
The diffusion of innovation in many markets is greatly influenced by the presence of policy intervention. Importantly, diffusion is further affected by the fact that firms often also have a say in affecting the implementation of policy. This analysis of the Japanese TV market suggests that firms may delay the introduction of more high quality products when there are across-the-board policy standards.
- 06 Sep 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Should US Companies Still Care About the Paris Climate Change Agreement?
American President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change one year ago. Vincent Pons discusses what it means for US business leaders in confronting environmental challenges. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 04 Sep 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Some Facts of High-Tech Patenting
This study details the growth of patenting in software, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and related technologies in the twenty-first century, and the continuing dominance of inventors in large US, Japanese, and Korean companies. Researchers still need to understand the impact of such trends on social welfare more generally.
Is There a Winner in Huawei’s Digital Cold War with the US?
Bill Kirby discusses his case study of China-based Huawei’s growth and ultimate confrontation with the United States government, and China's response to the coronavirus. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.