Wealth and Poverty →

What the Rise of Far-Right Politics Says About the Economy in an Election Year

With voters taking to the polls in dozens of countries this year, could election outcomes lean conservative? Paula Rettl says a lack of social mobility and a sense of economic insecurity are some of the factors fueling far-right movements around the world.

Could a Business Model Help Big Pharma Save Lives and Profit?

Gilead Sciences used a novel approach to help Egypt address a public health crisis while sustaining profits from a key product. V. Kasturi Rangan and participants at a recent seminar hosted by the Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society discussed what it would take to apply the model more widely.

Scaling a Fintech Startup for the Greater Good

Esusu launched in 2018 with a rotational savings product and continued growing their fintech startup in late 2019 with Esusu Rent, a rent reporting tool that enables renters to improve their credit scores. In March 2020, co-founders Abbey Wemimo and Samir Goel were working to determine how best to scale Esusu to advance their mission of promoting financial inclusion in the US. Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Emily Williams discusses how the two co-founders decided how to allocate resources and scale their business in the case, “Esusu: Solving Homelessness Backwards.”

Food Security and Human Mobility During the Covid-19 Lockdown

COVID-19 represents not only a health crisis but a crisis of food insecurity and starvation for migrants. Central governments should ensure that food security policies are implemented effectively and engage with local governments and local stakeholders to distribute food to migrants in the immediate term.

Corporate Tax Cuts Increase Income Inequality

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.

Business History, the Great Divergence and the Great Convergence

Among economic historians, the Great Divergence means the rise of the income gap between the West and the Rest since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The more recent Great Convergence is a narrowing of that gap. This paper integrates a business history perspective into debates surrounding these macro transformations. It calls for greater attention to micro processes that generate productive firms and entrepreneurs.