Economics
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- 12 Apr 2018
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: The Trouble with Tariffs
The world's economies are interconnected by globalization, which makes threats of tariff wars doubly dangerous, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Mar 2018
- Op-Ed
Op-Ed: Trump’s Tariffs Could Harm Allies as Much as Opponents
President Trump's duties on steel and aluminum could produce immediate political gain but long-term economic pain for some American industries and global allies, says Dante Roscini. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 01 Mar 2018
- What Do You Think?
Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?
SUMMING UP Have recent advances in technology such as artificial intelligence ushered in (finally) the "new economy?" Not so fast, answer James Heskett's readers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 23 Feb 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Trade Creditors' Information Advantage
Trade credit represents about a quarter of the liabilities of US firms. There are several theories explaining this fact. This study reexamines whether suppliers hold private information about their trade partners, by analyzing their behavior in bankruptcy.
- 22 Feb 2018
- Book
The New History of American Capitalism
Historians are taking a new look at capitalism in light of its adoption in most of the developed world. From the edited volume American Capitalism: New Histories, by Sven Beckert and Christine Desan, the authors delve into the evolution of these new historic views. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Feb 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
The Supply Chain Economy: A New Framework for Understanding Innovation and Services
This study shows that a large and dynamic supply chain economy plays a crucial role in innovation and in the creation of well-paid jobs. Traded service suppliers are particularly important. Policies that help suppliers access skilled labor, buyers, and capital could be beneficial for fostering innovation and economic growth.
- 16 Feb 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
A New Categorization of the US Economy: The Role of Supply Chain Industries in Innovation and Economic Performance
This paper provides a novel industry categorization that quantifies the supply chain economy in the United States. Suppliers of goods, and particularly services, to business and government are a distinct and large sector, and play an important role in national innovation and economic performance.
- 30 Jan 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Credit Supply Shocks, Network Effects, and the Real Economy
Using data for Spain between 2003 and 2013, this study examines firms’ responses to credit supply shocks during times of boom (expansion) and bust (financial crisis and recession). Results indicate that propagation of these shocks through the Spanish production network doubles the magnitude of the real effects typically estimated in the literature. This study also shows how such effects vary greatly during booms and busts.
- 05 Dec 2017
- Research & Ideas
What We've Learned from 101 Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets
Harvard Business School’s project exploring the evolution of business leadership in emerging economies has reached an important milestone. Project leaders Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna discuss what's been learned from the Creating Emerging Markets study so far. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 13 Nov 2017
- Research & Ideas
Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores
In an age of time scarcity, buying our way out of the negative moments in the day is an important key to happiness, according to research by Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, and Rene Bekkers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 18 Oct 2017
- Research & Ideas
How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization
Historical research by Valeria Giacomin shows that industrial clusters, often cited in explaining local economic growth, have had a much wider impact, especially in developing countries. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 29 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective
This paper examines how strategies by Western multinational enterprises in emerging markets over the last century have been shaped by context. These strategies evolved from resolving logistical challenges to managing assertive governments. More recently the focus has been to locate activities in the lower end of global value chains, whilst responding to local competitors.
- 26 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism
This chapter shows how a new kind of predominantly Italian merchants emerged as global figures during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Then as now, they pooled capital and shared risk to enrich themselves and their polities, utilized the infrastructure and markets that they helped make, and created new legal and financial instruments to facilitate their ventures.
- 23 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Nowcasting the Local Economy: Using Yelp Data to Measure Economic Activity at Scale
Data from online platforms ranging from Yelp to Zillow offer the potential for improved measurement of the local economy. This paper finds that Yelp data can predict business growth, as measured by the Census Bureau, before official statistics are released. Predictive power increases with population density, income, and education level.
- 15 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Debt Redemption and Reserve Accumulation
This study examines how reserve accumulation affects governments’ decisions to default. The analysis assumes that countries can accumulate reserves and borrow internationally using their own currency. Results suggest that the optimal level of international reserves is fairly large because their cost is mitigated by valuation-smoothing gains. The model matches some features of Brazil’s economic fluctuations.
- 11 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
A Historical Approach to Clustering in Emerging Economies
Clusters are geographically concentrated and interlinked agglomerations of specialized firms in a particular domain. This paper argues that long-term studies of clusters in developing countries are necessary to explain the relevance of clusters for the activities of multinational enterprises, making of global business, and building of an integrated marketplace.
- 05 Sep 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Structural Transformation: A Competitiveness-based View
A critical challenge for many economies is how to accelerate structural change when market forces alone seem insufficient. This paper explores the relationship between two approaches. The Structural Transformation framework argues for identifying and supporting target sectors in line with ‘latent’ competitive advantages. The competitiveness framework emphasizes the need to systematically strengthen competitive advantages, with new sectors the outcome rather than the driver of competitiveness upgrading.
- 18 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History
This paper argues that there are important commonalities about the business history of countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America despite differences between countries and within regions of each country. It is possible to discern a distinctive body of scholarship different from that on the West.
- 08 Aug 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Role of Taxes in the Disconnect Between Corporate Performance and Economic Growth
This paper offers evidence of potential issues with the current United States system of taxation on foreign corporate profits. A reduction in the US tax rate and the move to a territorial tax system from a worldwide system could better align economic growth with growth in corporate profits by encouraging firms to invest domestically and repatriate foreign earnings.
Should Intellectual Property be Protected in International Trade?
SUMMING UP To do business in China, American firms often lose some of their intellectual property. James Heskett's readers think that price is too high. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.