Social Issues →
- 25 May 2021
- Research & Ideas
White Airbnb Hosts Earn More. Can AI Shrink the Racial Gap?
Research by Shunyuan Zhang shows how Airbnb's pricing algorithm reduces the impact of bias, and offers lessons for other technology companies trying to root out racial inequity. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 May 2021
- What Do You Think?
Where Does CEO Activism Go From Here?
More than 200 CEOs, including Warren Buffett, recently spoke out in support of voting rights. But whom do these CEOs represent? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 15 Mar 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Fairness or Control: What Determines Elected Local Leaders’ Support for Hosting Refugees in Their Community?
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.
- 02 Mar 2021
- HBS Case
The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?
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; 0 Comments.
- 23 Feb 2021
- Research & Ideas
COVID-19 Shines New Light on Working Conditions in Supply Chains
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; 0 Comments.
- 23 Feb 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
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; 0 Comments.
- 16 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Bollywood, Skin Color, and Sexism: The Role of the Film Industry in Emboldening and Contesting Stereotypes in India after Independence
Analysis of interviews with Bollywood producers and actors shows the extent of biases in the film industry during the decades after India’s independence in 1947. Gender stereotyping has remained a noteworthy feature of films, and bias towards light skin has only intensified.
- 08 Feb 2021
- Book
How to Make the World Better, Not Perfect
If we want to do more good for the world, we must first change how we think about our behavior, says Max Bazerman in his book Better, Not Perfect. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Jan 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Engaging Community to Create Proactive, Equitable Public Safety
Saint Paul, Minnesota Mayor Melvin Carter swept into office in 2018 promising equity. He wanted a new public safety framework that would be rooted in community. Then, with the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out much of the city’s budget and the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer in neighboring Minneapolis sparking calls to defund the police, how would Mayor Carter make these changes happen? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses the challenges and rewards of “possibility government” in his case, Community-First Public Safety. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jan 2021
- Book
How Thinking Like a Startup Helps Governments Solve More Problems
Public entrepreneurship can bring agile thinking and new ideas to governments. Mitchell Weiss explains how in his new book, We the Possibility. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Jul 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Social Interactions in Pandemics: Fear, Altruism, and Reciprocity
An analysis of 89 cities worldwide shows that mobility responds to infection risk, altruism, and reciprocity. Correcting the SIR model to account for this behavior shows that a balanced approach involving stringency measures, in respect of human dignity, and responsible social preferences mitigates the pandemic health and economic costs.
- 30 Jun 2020
- Book
Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever
Almost a decade after writing Capitalism at Risk, Joseph Bower, Herman Leonard, and Lynn Paine argue that not enough companies are stepping up to fix big global problems. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Jun 2020
- Research & Ideas
What Is an "Essential" Purchase for a Low-Income Family?
Phone or flour? People with lower incomes are judged more harshly for what they choose to buy, say Serena F. Hagerty and Kate Barasz. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
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.
- 08 May 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Corporate Environmental Impact: Measurement, Data and Information
This paper proposes a methodology for investors, companies, or regulators to use established environmental resources, reasonably accessible in the public domain, to measure an organization’s environmental impact from operations. These measurements contain information that is different from environmental ratings widely used by investors and other stakeholders.
- 18 Feb 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts
Although there is growing interest in environmental, social, and governance measurement, the impact of company operations is emphasized over product use. A framework like this one that captures a product’s reach, accessibility, quality, optionality, environmental use emissions, and end of life recyclability allows for a systematic methodology that can be applied to companies across many industries.
- 02 Oct 2019
- What Do You Think?
What Grade Would You Give Walmart CEO Doug McMillon?
SUMMING UP: James Heskett's readers gave Walmart high marks for its response to gun violence but suggested the company could have been even more proactive. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 Sep 2019
- Research & Ideas
What Can the World’s Largest Refugee Camp Teach Us About the Meaning of Work?
Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees are sinking deeper into despair while sitting idle in a camp they can’t easily leave. But the opportunity to work might provide a resource more scarce than cash: hope. Research by Reshmaan N. Hussam.
- 20 May 2019
- Research & Ideas
Activist CEOs Are Rising Up—and Their Customers Are Listening
Are product sales affected by the CEO's stance on political and social issues? Michael Toffel and Aaron Chatterji study how consumers react to vocal chief executives. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Beyond the Cold War: Reinventing Socialism in 5 Countries
People have long associated socialism with the Soviet Union and Cold War, but many countries in the developing world have adapted the ideology to meet their needs, says a new book by Jeremy Friedman. Open for comment; 0 Comments.