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Fairness or Control: What Determines Elected Local Leaders’ Support for Hosting Refugees in Their Community?

by Kristin Fabbe, Eleni Kyrkopoulou, Konstantinos Matakos, and Asli Unan

Local politicians are not adamantly opposed to setting up host sites for refugees in their municipalities. However, they want a fair process to ensure that interaction between refugees and residents is limited, gradual, and mediated. Most importantly, local politicians want to control those interactions.

The Health Costs of Cost-Sharing

by Amitabh Chandra, Evan Flack, and Ziad Obermeyer

Small increases in cost cause patients to reduce their use of drugs with major benefits, ultimately causing their death. Since patient cost-sharing introduces large and deadly distortions into the cost-benefit calculus, payers should evaluate the merits of policies in light of their impact on health, not just on health care costs.

Readers Ask: What's the Next 'Big Thing' in Finance?

by Kristen Senz

Lauren Cohen tackles questions about bitcoin, podcasts, and weightlifting on Working Knowledge’s “Office Hours” series. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Key to Doing Your Best at Work? Be Yourself

by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

Hiding your quirks and opinions won't get you ahead. 'Badass' leaders bring their bold, authentic selves to work, without apology, says Francesca Gino. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Real Credit Cycles

by Pedro Bordalo, Nicola Gennaioli, Andrei Shleifer, and Stephen J. Terry

The financial crisis of 2008 renewed economists’ interest in financial fragility, specifically understanding its origins. This paper shows how market participants’ expectations can be part of standard macroeconomic models and significantly improve their explanatory power.

Stock Price Reactions to ESG News: The Role of ESG Ratings and Disagreement

by George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon

Company performance evaluations have included sell-side analyst forecasts, recommendations, and credit ratings, but a newer set has emerged: environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. This study finds that ESG ratings are useful for predicting future ESG news, but their predictive ability diminishes for firms with large disagreement between raters.

A Family Business at a Crossroads: Scaling and Succession

In 2000, Rohit Gera turned his family’s boutique real estate development firm in Pune, India, into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for urban Indian families. Today Gera Developments stands at a crossroads, with Gera planning the end of his managerial career. How should the family think about scaling the business? And, should the company seek a successor to lead those efforts from inside or outside the family? Senior Lecturer Christina Wing and case protagonist Rohit Gera discuss the family business and the crucial decisions it faces in the case, “Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

by Dina Gerdeman

When the pandemic recedes, executives can’t expect office life to be as it was. But they can create a new work world that will keep employees happy and productive, say Harvard Business School faculty members. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?

by Michael Blanding

A new Harvard Business School case by Mihir Desai examines the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, and asks difficult questions about what reparations America owes to its Black citizens. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Can Historic Social Injustices be Addressed Through Reparations?

Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants believe historic social injustices should be addressed through reparations. Professor Mihir Desai discusses the arguments for and against reparations in response to the Tulsa Massacre and, more broadly, to the effects of slavery and racist government policies in the US in his case, “The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Does Remote Work Mean for Middle Managers?

by James Heskett

Middle management was already the corporate scapegoat of choice before the COVID-19 pandemic. Will work-from-home policies make middle managers unnecessary or more critical than ever? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security

by Rachel Layne

Military enlistment in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack shows the far-reaching effects of racial violence and disenfranchisement, says research by Marco Tabellini. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Connecting Expected Stock Returns to Accounting Valuation Multiples: A Primer

by Akash Chattopadhyay, Matthew R. Lyle, and Charles C.Y. Wang

This paper introduces a framework to investors and researchers interested in accounting-based valuation. The framework connects expected stock returns to accounting valuation anchors. It can be generalized to evaluate an enterprise's expected returns, and can be adapted to correct for the use of stale accounting data.

Measuring Employment Impact: Applications and Cases

by Katie Panella and George Serafeim

Employment impact-weighted accounting statements quantify the positive and negative effects of firm practices for employees and the broader labor community. This analysis of companies in different sectors shows how these statements are beneficial both at an aggregate and more specific level.

What History's Biggest Wars Teach Us About Leading in Peace

by Lane Lambert

Deepak Malhotra shares how critical moments in the Peloponnesian War, both World Wars, and the Cuban Missile Crisis offer lessons for business—and life. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

COVID-19 Shines New Light on Working Conditions in Supply Chains

by Danielle Kost

Michael Toffel discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has renewed concerns about how suppliers treat employees, and how a new online resource can help. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Examining Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States

The late 20th century saw dramatic growth in incarceration rates in the United States. Of the more than 2.3 million people in US prisons, jails, and detention centers in 2020, 60 percent were Black or Latinx. Harvard Business School assistant professor Reshmaan Hussam probes the assumptions underlying the current prison system, with its huge racial disparities, and considers what could be done to address the crisis of the American criminal justice system in her case, “Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States.” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Private and Social Returns to R&D: Drug Development and Demographics

by Efraim Benmelech, Janice Eberly, Dimitris Papanikolaou, and Joshua Krieger

Research and development (R&D) by pharmaceutical firms focuses disproportionately on medical conditions afflicting the elderly. The proportion of R&D spending targeting older age groups is increasing over time. Even though these investments in R&D prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life, they have little effect on measured productivity and output growth.

Auditor Independence and Outsourcing: Aligning Incentives to Mitigate Shilling and Shirking

by Ashley Palmarozzo, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel

Firms use external auditors to monitor the quality of difficult-to-observe aspects of their business partners’ performance, including the working conditions of their suppliers. Firms can improve monitoring accuracy by having their own employees conduct some audits, and by rotating across third-party auditing firms.

Reaching Today's Omnichannel Customer Takes a New Sales Strategy

by Kristen Senz

For salespeople working harder than ever to stay ahead of customers' evolving buying habits, Frank Cespedes offers timeless advice in his new book, Sales Management That Works. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.