- 05 May 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Survival of the Fittest: The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit
This study examines the impact of minimum wage increases on restaurant closures in the San Francisco Bay Area, using data from 2008 through 2016 from the review platform Yelp. The study demonstrates that higher minimum wages increase closure rates among lower-rated restaurants, while higher-rated restaurants are largely insulated from changes.
- 22 Feb 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Incentives, Peer Pressure, and Behavior Persistence
Organizations often create initiatives to encourage adoption of new behaviors, or to stimulate performance improvements from existing practices. This research explores whether and how incentivized behaviors at a California hospital persist beyond the duration of the initiative.
- 06 Apr 2016
- Research & Ideas
Should Entrepreneurs Pitch Products or Ideas for Products?
Entrepreneurs with a new product idea must decide whether to pitch the concept or provide an actual prototype. Which works best? Professor Hong Luo finds answers in Hollywood screenplays. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 22 Feb 2016
- Research & Ideas
The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist
Historian Laura Phillips Sawyer unearths the story of little-known drug store owner Edna Gleason who, in a man’s world, helped fire a progressive movement to protect small-business owners from price-slashing chains. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Jan 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment
Online platforms such as Airbnb create new markets by eliminating search frictions, building trust, and facilitating transactions. With the rise of the sharing economy, however, comes the prospect of racial discrimination that is unheard of in established platforms. The authors suggest changes to Airbnb’s site design to reduce or prevent discrimination.
- 19 Nov 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
The US Experiment with Fair Trade Laws: State Police Powers, Federal Antitrust, and the Politics of 'Fairness', 1890–1938
In a study of California retail druggists at the turn of the twentieth century, Laura Phillips Sawyer, finds that price-fixing counterintiutively increased competition.
- 17 Feb 2015
- HBS Case
HBS Cases: The Battle for San Francisco
In San Francisco, tech companies are hoping to make the world a better place—but the fabric of the city is changing in the process. A new case by Clayton Rose explores this clash of cultures, and the role of business in promoting the right balance. Open for comment; 17 Comment(s) posted.
Minimum Wage Hikes Drive (Lousy) Restaurants Out of Business
Do minimum wage increases harm businesses? Evidence from Yelp-inspired research by Michael and Dara Lee Luca suggests the popularity of the business has a lot to do with it. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.