- 14 Dec 2020
- Research & Ideas
What Does December's Drug-Approval Dash Mean for COVID-19 Vaccines?
Even in the best of times, pharmaceutical regulators tend to rush through drug applications in December. Now add in a ruthless pandemic. Research and insights from Lauren Cohen. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 17 Aug 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Of Learning and Forgetting: Centrism, Populism, and the Legitimacy Crisis of Globalization
Cycles of liberation and regulation of global finance follow a pattern of learning and forgetting. This essay argues that liberalization and globalization created the instability and inequality that have begun to undermine the system from within.
- 12 Aug 2020
- Research & Ideas
Why Investors Often Lose When They Sue Their Financial Adviser
Forty percent of American investors rely on financial advisers, but the COVID-19 market rollercoaster may have highlighted a weakness when disputes arise. The system favors the financial industry, says Mark Egan. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 23 Jul 2020
- Research & Ideas
How Countries Use Financial Policy to Fight COVID-19
Developing countries have fewer fiscal tools and policy options to combat COVID-19 damage to their economies, according to research by Alberto Cavallo and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 20 Jul 2020
- Op-Ed
It's Time for a Bipartisan Health Plan for Employers and Employees
Regina E. Herzlinger and Richard J. Boxer prescribe a seemingly impossible cure for battling health care options: a plan that embraces both Republican and Democratic ideas. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 12 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Sticky Capital Controls
One of the legacies of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis has been a reassessment of the potential for restriction of capital flows policies. This paper documents a set of stylized facts on capital controls along their intensive and extensive margins for emerging markets and document them to be “sticky.” We then rationalize them through a model that includes fixed cost of implementing such policies, which lower the welfare gains of implementation.
- 10 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help
This paper shows how tools, such as simulations used to design new technologies, can facilitate collaborative economic policy judgments. The paper forms part of a broader, ongoing study of knowledge in practical fields such as engineering, medicine, and business.
- 09 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
How Should US Bank Regulators Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis?
Instead of the "watchful waiting" approach taken by US bank regulators to the pandemic crisis, they should use their prudential authorities to encourage banks to increase their equity capital. This is effectively a way of buying low-cost insurance against adverse scenarios that have become more likely.
- 02 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Inflation with COVID Consumption Baskets
Examining the impact that changes in expenditure patterns are having on the measurement of consumer price indices (CPI) inflation in 17 countries, this study finds that the cost of living for the average consumer is higher than estimated by the official CPI. This implies that real consumption is falling more quickly over time.
- 18 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Rise of the Investor State: State Capital in the Chinese Economy
Researchers document and explain the rise of a novel form of intervention on the part of the Chinese state: the expansion of state capital beyond ownership of state firms.
- 02 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
HBS COVID-19 Global Policy Tracker
The Harvard Business School Covid-19 Global Policy Tracker monitors new developments and changes in government policies throughout this crisis to analyze trends and correlations in countries' responses and economic impact.
- 01 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Rebates in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Evidence from Medicines Sold in Retail Pharmacies in the U.S.
Retail pharmacy data illustrates it can be misleading to use list prices instead of net prices to understand pharmaceutical prices. Analysts and economists working in public policy should be extremely cautious in drawing policy conclusions based on list prices alone.
- 16 Apr 2020
- Research & Ideas
Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?
4Questions Companies and consumers depend on the global value chain to create and distribute products around the world. What happens when the chain breaks? Insights from Laura Alfaro and Ester Faia. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 13 Apr 2020
- Research & Ideas
Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought
A survey of small-business owners shows that lack of liquidity and skepticism of government programs are compounding COVID crisis recovery efforts. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Mar 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Consumer Protection in an Online World: An Analysis of Occupational Licensing
This paper uses new data collected by a digital platform to study the role of occupational licensing laws on individual choices and market outcomes. Results suggest that more stringent licensing laws restrict competition but do not lead to improvements in customer satisfaction.
- 03 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Competition in Pricing Algorithms
The adoption of pricing technology can lead to higher prices, by increasing the frequency of price changes and/or encoding pricing strategies in algorithms. This raises new antitrust questions for policymakers, as firms do not need to coordinate or collude to raise prices.
- 21 Jan 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
The Impact of the General Data Protection Regulation on Internet Interconnection
While many countries consider implementing their own versions of privacy and data protection regulations, there are concerns about whether such regulations may negatively impact the growth of the internet and reduce technology firms’ incentives in operating and innovating. Results of this study suggest limited effects of such regulations on the internet layer.
- 01 Jan 2020
- What Do You Think?
Why Not Open America's Doors to All the World’s Talent?
SUMMING UP: The H-1B visa program is exploited by some employers to replace high-paid talent, but that doesn't mean foreign workers should be shut out of working in the United States, according to many of James Heskett's readers. 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.
Dog Eat Dog: Measuring Network Effects Using a Digital Platform Merger
With heated debate over antitrust regulation of online platforms, this study finds that when a larger platform acquired its greatest competitor, users were not better off with a single platform compared to two competitors, despite marked efficiency improvements experienced by the acquiring platform.