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New research on society from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including political polarization, urban life, and social networks.
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The Business of Saving the Planet

by Sean Silverthorne

The biggest challenge facing today's business leaders? Making their operations in harmony with the environment. Read the latest research around building sustainability into business processes and management practices. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Stereotypes and Belief Updating

by Katherine B. Coffman, Manuela Collis, and Leena Kulkarni

Increasing evidence demonstrates that stereotyped beliefs drive key economic decisions. This paper shows the significant role of self-stereotyping in predicting beliefs about one’s own ability. Stereotypes do not just affect beliefs about ability when information is scarce. In fact, stereotypes color the way information is incorporated into beliefs, perpetuating initial biases.

Green Businesses Are Incredibly Difficult to Make Profitable. Try It Anyway

by Dina Gerdeman

Making a business successful is a challenge in itself, but making a green business profitable is an even harder journey. For society's sake, entrepreneurs must be prepared to make that journey, says Geoffrey Jones. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

by Bill George

At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, these four corporate leaders stepped forward—and changed how we think of leadership forever, says Bill George. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Digital Commons: Tragedy or Opportunity? A Reflection on the 50th Anniversary of Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons

by Frank Nagle

Garrett Hardin’s Science article “The Tragedy of the Commons” 50 years ago focused on a physical world where common goods are finite and rivalrous. By contrast, this paper explores the digital commons, calling for better understanding of its long-term impact and for government policies supporting benefits while mitigating costs.

Financing the Response to Climate Change: The Pricing and Ownership of US Green Bonds

by Malcolm Baker, Daniel Bergstresser, George Serafeim, and Jeffrey Wurgler

Green bonds are used for environmentally friendly purposes like renewable energy. Complementing previous research, this paper explores the US corporate and municipal green bond and shows that a subset of investors is willing to give up some return to hold green bonds.

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

by Rachel Layne

There is a connection between public sentiment about a company and how the market rewards its corporate social performance, according to George Serafeim. Is your company undervalued? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What’s the Best Administrative Approach to Climate Change?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: James Heskett's readers point to examples of complex environmental problems conquered through multinational cooperation. Can those serve as roadmaps for overcoming global warming? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Gifts of the Immigrants, Woes of the Natives: Lessons from the Age of Mass Migration

by Marco Tabellini

Investigating the economic and political effects of immigration across US cities between 1910 and 1930, this paper finds that political opposition to immigration can arise even when immigrants bring widespread economic benefits. The paper provides evidence that cultural differences between immigrants and natives were responsible, at least in part, for natives’ anti-immigration reactions.

Negotiating a Better Future: How Interpersonal Skills Facilitate Inter-Generational Investment

by Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, Corinne Low, and Kathleen McGinn

For many girls in developing countries, early adolescence is a time of key challenges: school dropout rates rise, and social and economic pressures increase for marriage and motherhood. This randomized control trial involving Zambian adolescent girls finds that negotiation skills can help them navigate these challenges. Girls taught negotiation skills had significantly better educational outcomes over the next three years.

Think of it as Professors in Cars Having Coffee

by Sean Silverthorne

Has the art of civil debate returned? In the new Harvard Business School podcast series After Hours, professors Youngme Moon, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, and Mihir Desai discuss issues ranging from gun control to voice-activated digital assistants. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How to Know If Your Neighborhood Is Being Gentrified

by Dina Gerdeman

Using modern digital tools, Michael Luca and colleagues hope to give urban planners a look into gentrification as it is happening. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

by Julia Hanna

Foreign businesses located in at-war countries are often victims of expropriation. Historian Valeria Giacomin explores how German businesses in the United Kingdom and India mitigated risk and even benefitted when their employees were placed in internment camps during the World Wars. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Corporate Tax Cuts Increase Income Inequality

by Suresh Nallareddy, Ethan Rouen, and Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato

This paper examines corporate tax reform by estimating the causal effect of state corporate tax cuts on top income inequality. Results suggest that, while corporate tax cuts increase investment, the gains from this investment are concentrated on top earners, who may also exploit additional strategies to increase the share of total income that accrues to the top 1 percent.

Why JPMorgan Chase Is Investing Millions in Detroit

Re: Joseph L. Bower

JPMorgan Chase is making extensive investments into the revitalization of Detroit. What does it expect in return? Professor Joseph Bower and JP Morgan executive Peter Scher discuss the challenges and rewards of partnering with cities in this podcast. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Smart Cities are Complicated and Costly: Here's How to Build Them

by John Macomber

When governments take on a smart city project, it's often the private sector that's left to execute the vision—sometimes at the expense of good public policy. John Macomber proposes a roadmap that considers situation, solution, and sovereignty. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Trump’s Populism: What Business Leaders Need To Understand

Re: Rafael M. Di Tella

Whether you are a fan of populism or not, it is vital for business leaders to understand the debate around it, says Rafael Di Tella in our latest Cold Call podcast. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

One Love: Managing a Movement Against Relationship Violence

Re: Thomas J. DeLong

One Love Foundation is dedicated to the prevention of relationship violence through education. Professor Tom DeLong talks about the challenges CEO Katie Hood faces as the organization works to create a movement and then maintain momentum around community engagement, fundraising, and growth. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Who is Responsible for the Future of Cities?

by Carmen Nobel

As technological innovations continue to transform urban growth, many believe the private sector should lead the future of cities—and that government regulators should follow its lead. But in a recent cross-disciplinary panel at Harvard, not everyone agreed. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Could a Hackathon Help Solve the Heroin Crisis?

Re: Mitchell B. Weiss

What’s the value of crowdsourcing technological solutions to societal problems? Could a hackathon help solve the heroin crisis in Cincinnati, Ohio? Mitch Weiss discusses a recent case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.