Globalization →
- 08 Dec 2014
- Research & Ideas
A Manager’s Guide to International Strategy
In a new book on international strategy, David Collis details the four strategic questions that need to be answered by managers in multinationals. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Dec 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Big Influence of Small Countries in the United Nations Secretariat
Who calls the shots at the United Nations Secretariat? A new study by Eric Werker and Paul Novosad on the nationalities of senior staff draws surprising conclusions about the influence of smaller countries compared with world powers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Oct 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Who Runs the International System? Power and the Staffing of the United Nations Secretariat
National governments frequently pull strings to get their citizens appointed to senior positions in international institutions. For the United Nations' executive arm, the Secretariat—which plays a plays a key role in agenda-setting for the various deliberative UN organs, as well as managing global peace-keeping operations—there is keen competition among nations over the staffing of approximately 80 senior positions. Which nations therefore have been successful in controlling this institution? What factors have allowed them to do so? In this paper the authors examine the nationality of the most senior officials in the United Nations Secretariat over the last sixty years. Findings show that democracies, countries that invest in bilateral diplomacy, and economically/militarily powerful countries are the most effective at placing staff in the Secretariat. Furthermore, Western Europe and its offshoots have retained control over a disproportionate share of positions in the Secretariat even while their share of global GDP and population has fallen. Key concepts include: The power to control international institutions is of significant concern to governments around the world. The United Nations is arguably the world's most representative international organization. Even so, it was set up by a particular set of nations, the victors of the second world war, with the goal of sustaining a certain kind of world order. In spite of significant changes in the balance of global economic power over the past decades, the post-World War II balance of control at the United Nations has been largely sustained. Nordic countries are in a far more influential international position than the size of their population or economy would suggest. Top positions are dominated by rich democracies: the five most overrepresented countries in the Secretariat are Sweden, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, and Ireland. The United States is overrepresented, and China is significantly underrepresented. In spite of the decline in US influence, the Secretariat remains pro-American relative to the world at large. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Aug 2014
- Lessons from the Classroom
Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery
Harvard Business School students make an annual trek to businesses in the Japanese area wrecked by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Their objectives: learn all they can about human resilience and share their own management knowledge. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 May 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Profits and Economic Development
"Without development there is no profit, without profit no development," wrote economist and political scientist Joseph Schumpeter in his landmark book The Theory of Economic Development. An open question, however, has been whether excess profits—known as rents—are good for development. Economic theory thus far supports both sides of the argument, yielding conflicting advice for competition policy and anticorruption efforts. This paper examines the question by analyzing a comprehensive industry—level dataset of manufacturing sectors—and by applying methods of the competition-and-growth scholarship of economist Philippe Aghion and colleagues. This approach allows the analysis of industry-level profitability (as opposed to individual firms) and the overall growth of the economy. Evidence suggests that rents, as measured by a high-markup that is also an indication of low competition, seem to slow growth in productivity or output. The effect is strongest in poor countries. Higher rents are associated with a slower removal of tariffs, implying that firms rent-seek to prevent competition and maintain their high margins. This investment in rent-seeking may be in lieu of investment in innovation or new productive assets, which slows the overall growth of the sector. Furthermore, in industries in which high profits should be essential in generating growth, those sectors that would otherwise need external finance but in a country with weak financial markets, the negative impact of rents on growth is especially strong. Findings also show that countries with more rents in the manufacturing sector grow slower even when other controls are introduced. Key concepts include: What may be good for the players in one industry may not be good for the economy at large. A country's average mark-up is a strong negative predictor of future economic growth. Poor countries grow faster than rich countries because of the benefits of catch-up, but those countries also tend to have higher rents, which slows growth. Developing countries have a tailwind from being poor in the catch-up sense, but a headwind from being poor through an inferior political economy of rent-seeking business. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Apr 2014
- Research & Ideas
To Pay or Not to Pay: Argentina and the International Debt Market
Argentina's escalating financial crisis seems rocketing toward disaster. The fix? Finance Professor Laura Alfaro, who served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica, recommends a radical solution sure to anger banks and fund managers: absolute sovereign immunity, Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: ‘Can China Lead?’
Creativity and innovation can be nurtured in different educational and institutional settings, but does China have a good institutional framework for innovation? An excerpt from Can China Lead? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
China’s Economic System has Difficult Road Overcoming its Political System
It's fashionable to be bullish on China. But the new book "Can China Lead?" urges a more cautious view on the prospects of the country, where government bureaucracy stifles innovation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility
Research by Christopher Marquis shows that a company's degree of social responsibility is affected by a surprising factor—the language it uses to communicate. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Mar 2014
- Research & Ideas
Book Excerpt: ’Entrepreneurship and Multinationals’
An excerpt from Entrepreneurship and Multinationals: Global Business and the Making of the Modern World, by Geoffrey Jones. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Mar 2014
- HBS Case
Decommoditizing the Canned Tomato
Most commodity producers look to cut costs aggressively. So why is Mutti S.p.a, an Italian producer of tomato products, paying farmers more than competitors? Mary Shelman discusses her case study. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Jan 2014
- Research & Ideas
High-Tech Immigrant Workers Don’t Cost US Jobs
Hiring skilled immigrants by United States high-tech firms not only doesn't push out existing workers, it creates job opportunities for all, argues William Kerr. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Jan 2014
- Research & Ideas
Language Wars Divide Global Companies
An increasing number of global firms adopt a primary language for business operations—usually English. The problem: The practice can surface dormant hostilities around culture and geography, reports Tsedal Neeley. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Dec 2013
- Research & Ideas
Cultural Disharmony Undermines Workplace Creativity
Managing cultural friction not only creates a more harmonious workplace, says professor Roy Y.J. Chua, but ensures that you reap the creative benefits of multiculturalism at its best. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Dec 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Heterogeneous Technology Diffusion and Ricardian Trade Patterns
The principle of Ricardian technology differences as a source of trade is well established in the theory of international economics. This theory argues that countries can focus on producing products in which they have comparative productivity advantages; subsequent exchanges afford higher standards of living in all countries than are possible without trade. While a key theory, economists have struggled to quantify the empirical importance of comparative technology advantages and their link to trade. This is especially difficult given the high degree to which technology states of countries and industries can be correlated with other traits about countries that could also promote trade. This study contributes to scholarship on Ricardian advantages through the development of a substantially larger dataset than previously utilized and the study of changes in technology/trade over time. Even more important, the study provides a tool for isolating relative technology growth in exporting countries across industries. The foundation for this identification is the modeling of Ricardian advantages through differences across countries and their industries in terms of their access to the U.S. technology frontier. The differences arise due to historical migration patterns (e.g., Chinese migration to San Francisco versus Hispanic migration to Miami). The study analyzes how technologies flow differentially to countries and industries based upon the historical settlement patterns of migrants from countries and the spatial development of new technologies in the United States (i.e., which technologies flourished in San Francisco versus Miami). The study finds that these differential technology flows are powerful enough to influence world trade patterns, and in the process, they provide new identification to an age-old theory. Key concepts include: A core principle in international economics concerns trade among countries due to technology differences. While often this theory constitutes the first chapter in trade textbooks, empirical measurement of these relationships has been challenging. The empirical work in the study finds that comparative advantages are an important determinant of trade. Moreover, Ricardian differences are relevant for explaining changes in trade patterns over time. The study documents for emerging economies an economic consequence of emigration to frontier economies like the United States. Technology transfer from overseas migrants is strong enough to meaningfully promote exports from the home country. Beyond quantifying the link between technology and trade for manufacturing, this paper also contributes to research on the benefits and costs of emigration to the United States for the migrants' home countries (i.e., the "brain drain" or "brain gain" debate). Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Dec 2013
- Research & Ideas
The Fantastic Horizon: How to Invest in a New City
Rapid urbanization and resource scarcity pose problems—and opportunities—for businesses and governments all over the world. Senior Lecturer John Macomber writes about his recent investigative visits to nascent privately-funded municipalities in Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Oct 2013
- Research & Ideas
Reserve Bank Governor Discusses India’s Financial Opportunities
A month after becoming the new governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan came to HBS to deliver the 2013 Leatherbee Lecture, "India: The Opportunities and Challenges Ahead." Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Sep 2013
- Research & Ideas
The Curse of Double-Digit Growth
Liberia wants fast growth in order to solidify its social and political advances. Problem is, says Eric D. Werker, countries growing that quickly "are not unequivocally a club that one should strive to join." Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Aug 2013
- Lessons from the Classroom
Built for Global Competition from the Start
Building a startup as a global business requires managers with skills and strategy much different from their predecessors of even a generation ago, says William R. Kerr. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
The Fall of Greece
When the Syriza party emerged victorious in Greece's national election last week, many citizens rejoiced at the promise of an easing of austerity measures. Professor George Serafeim believes having fresh people in government is a positive development, but fears they could point the country backward, away from competition and free-market forces. Open for comment; 0 Comments.