Lakshmi Iyer
Associate Professor of Business Administration, Marvin Bower Fellow
Lakshmi Iyer is an economist in the Business, Government and the International Economy (BGIE) Unit at Harvard Business School. Her primary research fields are political economy and development economics, with a special emphasis on property rights and the distribution of political power within societies. Her research has examined historical and current property rights institutions in developing countries such as India, Vietnam, China and the Philippines. She has also studied many dimensions of the distribution of political power within emerging market countries, including the legacy of colonial rule, the division of authority between politicians and bureaucrats, the determinants of conflict and the consequences of female political representation.
Lakshmi Iyer teaches Institutions, Macroeconomics and the Global Economy (IMaGE) in the second year MBA curriculum, and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Chapter
| The Poor Half Billion in South Asia
| 2010
Is Decentralization Helping the Lagging Regions?
Lakshmi Iyer, Ejaz Ghani and Saurabh Mishra
Keywords: Government and Politics;
Local Range;
Welfare or Wellbeing;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Citation: Iyer, Lakshmi, Ejaz Ghani, and Saurabh Mishra. "Is Decentralization Helping the Lagging Regions?" In The Poor Half Billion in South Asia, edited by Ejaz Ghani. Oxford University Press, 2010. (Non-technical summary: VoxEU .)
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Article
| Review of Economics and Statistics
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Direct versus Indirect Colonial Rule in India: Long-term Consequences
Lakshmi Iyer
Keywords: Outcome or Result;
India;
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Article
| Review of Economics and Statistics
|
Traveling Agents: Political Change and Bureaucratic Turnover in India
Lakshmi Iyer and Anandi Mani
We develop a framework to empirically examine how politicians with electoral pressures control bureaucrats with career concerns as well as the consequences for bureaucrats' career investments. Unique micro-level data on Indian bureaucrats support our key predictions. Politicians use frequent reassignments (transfers) across posts of varying importance to control bureaucrats. High-skilled bureaucrats face less frequent political transfers and lower variability in the importance of their posts. We find evidence of two alternative paths to career success: officers of higher initial ability are more likely to invest in skill, but caste affinity to the politician's party base also helps secure important positions.
Keywords: Framework;
Government and Politics;
Investment;
Competency and Skills;
Personal Development and Career;
Rank and Position;
Forecasting and Prediction;
India;
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Article
| American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
|
The Power of Political Voice: Women's Political Representation and Crime in India
Lakshmi Iyer, Anandi Mani, Prachi Mishra and Petia Topalova
Using state-level variation in the timing of political reforms, we find that an increase in female representation in local government induces a large and significant rise in documented crimes against women in India. Our evidence suggests that this increase is good news, driven primarily by greater reporting rather than greater incidence of such crimes. In contrast, we find no increase in crimes against men or gender-neutral crimes. We also examine the effectiveness of alternative forms of political representation: large-scale membership of women in local councils affects crime against them more than their presence in higher level leadership positions.
Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Government and Politics;
Crime and Corruption;
Leadership;
Gender Characteristics;
Performance Effectiveness;
Rank and Position;
India;
Citation: Iyer, Lakshmi, Anandi Mani, Prachi Mishra, and Petia Topalova. "The Power of Political Voice: Women's Political Representation and Crime in India." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 4, no. 4 (October, 2012): 165–193.
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Article
| Economic & Political Weekly
|
Caste and Entrepreneurship in India
Lakshmi Iyer, Tarun Khanna and Ashutosh Varshney
It is now widely accepted that the lower castes have risen in Indian politics. Has there been a corresponding change in the economy? Using comprehensive data on enterprise ownership from the Economic Censuses of 1990, 1998, and 2005, we document substantial caste differences in entrepreneurship across India. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are significantly under-represented in the ownership of enterprises and the share of the workforce employed by them. These differences are widespread across all states, have decreased very modestly between 1990 and 2005, and cannot be attributed to broad differences in access to physical or human capital.
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Working Paper
| HBS Working Paper Series
| 2008
The Cost of Property Rights: Establishing Institutions on the Philippine Frontier Under American Rule, 1898-1918
Lakshmi Iyer and Noel Maurer
We examine three reforms to property rights introduced by the United States in the Philippines in the early 20th century: the redistribution of large estates to their tenants, the creation of a system of secure land titles, and a homestead program to encourage cultivation of public lands. During the first phase of American occupation (1898-1918), we find that the implementation of these reforms was very slow. As a consequence, tenure insecurity increased over this period, and the distribution of farm sizes remained extremely unequal. We identify two primary causes for the slow progress of reform. The first was the high cost of implementing these programs, together with political constraints which prevented the government from subsidizing land reforms to a greater degree. The second was the reluctance of the government to evict delinquent or informal cultivators, especially on public lands, which reduced the costs of tenure insecurity.
Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Rights;
Property;
Business and Government Relations;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
Philippines;
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Article
| American Economic Review
|
History, Institutions and Economic Performance: the Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India
Abhijit Banerjee and Lakshmi Iyer
Keywords: History;
Performance;
Economics;
System;
India;
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Article
| Economic Development and Cultural Change
|
Land Titling and Rural Transition in Vietnam
Lakshmi Iyer and Quy-Toan Do
Keywords: Transition;
Viet Nam;
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Chapter
| Reshaping Tomorrow: Is South Asia Ready for the Big Leap?
| 2011
Managing Conflict
Lakshmi Iyer
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Chapter
| Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Peace and Conflict
| 2012
Mental Health in the Aftermath of Conflict
Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer
We survey the recent literature on the mental health effects of conflict. We highlight the methodological challenges faced in this literature, which include the lack of validated mental health scales in a survey context, the difficulties in measuring individual exposure to conflict, and the issues related to making causal inferences from observed correlations. We illustrate how some of these issues can be overcome in a study of mental health in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mental health is measured using a clinically validated scale; conflict exposure is proxied by administrative data on war casualties instead of being self-reported. We find that there are no significant differences in overall mental health across areas that are affected by ethnic conflict to a greater or lesser degree.
Keywords: Ethnicity Characteristics;
Health Disorders;
Body of Literature;
Data and Data Sets;
Surveys;
Measurement and Metrics;
Problems and Challenges;
Conflict of Interests;
War;
Bosnia and Hercegovina;
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Article
| Journal of Peace Research
|
Geography, Poverty and Conflict in Nepal
Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer
This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the geographic, economic and social factors that contributed to the spread of civil war in Nepal over the period 1996-2006. This within-country analysis complements existing cross-country studies on the same subject. Using a detailed dataset to track civil war casualties across space and over time, several patterns are documented. Conflict-related deaths are significantly higher in poorer districts, and in geographical locations that favor insurgents, such as mountains and forests; a 10 percentage point increase in poverty is associated with 25-27 additional conflict-related deaths. This result is similar to that documented in cross-country studies. In addition, the relationship with poverty and geography is similar for deaths caused by the insurgents and deaths caused by the state. Furthermore, poorer districts are likely to be drawn into the insurgency earlier, consistent with the theory that a lower cost of recruiting rebels is an important factor in starting conflict. On the other hand, geographic factors are not significantly associated with such onset, suggesting that they instead contribute to the intensity of violence once conflict has started. Finally, in contrast with some cross-country analyses, ethnic and caste polarization, land inequality, and political participation are not significantly associated with violence.
Keywords: Geography;
Economics;
Poverty;
Conflict and Resolution;
War;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques;
Ethnicity Characteristics;
Government and Politics;
Nepal;
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Chapter
| Handbook of Development Economics
| 2008
Public Action for Public Goods: Theory and Evidence
Abhijit Banerjee, Lakshmi Iyer and Rohini Somanathan
This chapter focuses on the relationship between public action and access to public goods. It begins by developing a simple model of collective action which is intended to capture the various mechanisms that are discussed in the theoretical literature on collective action. We argue that several of these intuitive theoretical arguments rely on special additional assumptions that are often not made clear. We then review the empirical work based on the predictions of these models of collective action. While the available evidence is generally consistent with these theories, there is a dearth of quality evidence. Moreover, a large part of the variation in access to public goods seems to have nothing to do with the “bottom-up” forces highlighted in these models and instead reflects more “top-down” interventions. We conclude with a discussion of some of the historical evidence on top-down interventions.
Keywords: Policy;
Quality;
Groups and Teams;
Human Needs;
Poverty;
Welfare or Wellbeing;
Public Administration Industry;
Citation: Banerjee, Abhijit, Lakshmi Iyer, and Rohini Somanathan. "Public Action for Public Goods: Theory and Evidence." In Handbook of Development Economics. Vol. 4, edited by T. Paul Schultz, and John Strauss. Elsevier Science, 2008.
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Chapter
| Natural Experiments in History
| 2010
Colonial Land Tenure, Electoral Competition, and Public Goods in India
Abhijit Banerjee and Lakshmi Iyer
Keywords: History;
Public Sector;
Political Elections;
India;
Citation: Banerjee, Abhijit, and Lakshmi Iyer. "Colonial Land Tenure, Electoral Competition, and Public Goods in India." In Natural Experiments in History, edited by Jared Diamond, and James Robinson. Harvard University Press, 2010.
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Article
| Journal of the European Economic Association
|
History, Social Divisions and Public Goods in Rural India
Abhijit Banerjee, Lakshmi Iyer and Rohini Somanathan
Keywords: History;
Goods and Commodities;
Society;
India;
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Technical Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2013
Monetary Policy and Bank Supervision
Lakshmi Iyer
Citation: Iyer, Lakshmi. "Monetary Policy and Bank Supervision." Harvard Business School Technical Note 713-073, March 2013.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
The World Bank in 2012: Choosing a Leader
Lakshmi Iyer and Ian McKowan Cornell
In 2012, the World Bank faced important questions in terms of its future strategy and mission. Should the Bank continue to focus on micro-level development initiatives, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), or return to traditional macro-level financial support? Was the Bank's role as a source of funds for developing countries still relevant? Should emerging market nations be given a greater role in the governance structure? Most importantly, was Jim Yong Kim, a US national, the right choice to lead the Bank, in preference to highly qualified candidates from developing nations?
Keywords: economic development;
Millennium Development Goals;
World Bank;
international institutions;
leadership;
foreign direct investment;
Leadership;
Development Economics;
Emerging Markets;
Foreign Direct Investment;
Financial Services Industry;
Public Administration Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2012
Urbanizing China
Lakshmi Iyer and G.A. Donovan
In 2012, China attained a historic development milestone with more Chinese citizens living in cities than in the countryside. China's rapid urbanization, and the accompanying conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses, raised a number of economic, social, and political concerns. Could China maintain its food security in view of the sharply rising demand for land for urban development? How could it ensure the sustainability of local government finances? Was the growing number of land protests the harbinger of major changes in China's political institutions? How would the challenges of urbanization affect the business environment for private firms? The success and viability of China's overall growth strategy depended crucially on managing a successful urban transition.
Keywords: China;
urbanization;
industrialization;
property rights;
local government finance;
social protest;
business environment;
food security;
Safety;
Change Management;
Food;
Urban Development;
Social Issues;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Public Administration Industry;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
China;
Citation: Iyer, Lakshmi, and G.A. Donovan. " Urbanizing China." Harvard Business School Case 713-037, October 2012.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2012
(Revised from original 2012 version)
India 2012: The Challenges of Governance
Lakshmi Iyer and Richard H. K. Vietor
In January 2012, the government of India faced significant challenges to achieving three key objectives of high growth, inclusive development, and improved governance. The economy was experiencing a growth slowdown, persistently high inflation, and infrastructure and energy deficits. Policy reforms were hampered by several recent corruption scandals, widespread citizen protests against corruption, and disagreements with coalition partners. Could India make the right decisions needed to lift hundreds of millions of citizens out of poverty?
Keywords: Governance;
Government and Politics;
Problems and Challenges;
Economic Growth;
India;
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Background Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2002 version)
Europe: Data Supplement, 1950-2011
Huw R. Pill, Lakshmi Iyer, Marie-Laure Goepfer and Ingrid Vogel
Supplements The Blair Wealth Project: Antecedents and Prospects, Renewing Germany: Kohl's Legacy and Schroder's Dilemma, Italy: A New Commitment to Growth, and The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking?
Keywords: Data and Data Sets;
United Kingdom;
Germany;
Italy;
Netherlands;
Citation: Pill, Huw R., Lakshmi Iyer, Marie-Laure Goepfer, and Ingrid Vogel. " Europe: Data Supplement, 1950-2011." Harvard Business School Background Note 703-013, February 2012. (Revised from original September 2002 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2011
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (A)
Lakshmi Iyer, John D. Macomber and Namrata Arora
Maharashtra state is accepting bids to redevelop Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. A real estate developer assesses the risks and tenders a bid. The bid conditions include providing new free housing to tens of thousands of slum dwellers, which is anticipated to be paid for from the revenues from developing and selling market-rate housing. While the primary concerns are cost of construction, cost of capital, and revenues from sale of units, the analysis must consider many aspects of risk including political risk, foreign exchange risk, market risk, and execution risk. Further, the discussion covers social aspects including whether the slum should be redeveloped at all, whether it should be redeveloped by government or by the private sector, and whether to accomplish it in large chunks or in smaller increments. Additional topics that can be covered include consideration of what happens to commercial activities formerly run from slum dwellings, whether the market-rate units will indeed sell for high prices if there are tens of thousands of former slum dwellers housed nearby, and whether the slum dwellers will be allowed to resell their units or whether they must remain in them. Other issues include timing of the project, guarantees to and from the government and the private parties to mitigate risk, and whether this model, if successful, can be extended to other slums in Asia.
Keywords: Risk Management;
Housing;
Development Economics;
Urban Development;
Social Issues;
Emerging Markets;
Business and Government Relations;
Real Estate Industry;
Mumbai;
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Supplement
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (B)
Lakshmi Iyer and John Macomber
In July 2009, as investors prepared to submit financial bids for the $3 billion Dharavi slum redevelopment project, considerable economic and political risks remained.
Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty;
Private Equity;
Social Issues;
Investment;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Business and Government Relations;
Financial Services Industry;
Real Estate Industry;
Mumbai;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A) and (B) (TN)
Lakshmi Iyer
Teaching Note for 711017 and 711018.
Keywords: Markets;
Strategy;
Intellectual Property;
Crime and Corruption;
Film Entertainment;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
India;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Ben Bernanke: Person of the Year?
Lakshmi Iyer and Matthew C. Weinzierl
In response to the economic and financial crisis of 2008–2009, the Federal Reserve greatly expanded the scale and scope of its activities. Though lauded by many experts for its actions, the Fed and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, faced harsh criticism from some public commentators and members of Congress. This document summarizes that criticism and Chairman Bernanke's responses to it, highlighting the tension between congressional oversight of the Fed and the Fed's independence from political influence.
Keywords: Financial Crisis;
Central Banking;
Governance Controls;
Policy;
Crisis Management;
Power and Influence;
Public Administration Industry;
United States;
Citation: Iyer, Lakshmi, and Matthew C. Weinzierl. " Ben Bernanke: Person of the Year?" Harvard Business School Case 710-051, March 2011. (Revised from original January 2010 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (A)
Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora
In January 2010, Fox Star Studios is preparing to release the Bollywood film My Name is Khan in Indian and international markets. What strategies should the company adopt to protect their intellectual property? How much should the company invest in anti-piracy initiatives? Should releases be restricted only to more secure digital screens? Should the company be concerned about the frequent comparisons of the movie with Forrest Gump, in light of several recent cases of Hollywood studios suing Bollywood producers for plagiarism?
Keywords: Crime and Corruption;
Copyright;
Lawsuits and Litigation;
Emerging Markets;
Business Strategy;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
India;
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Supplement
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Hollywood in India: Protecting Intellectual Property (B)
Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora
Keywords: Intellectual Property;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
India;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Dharavi: Developing Asia's Largest Slum (TN)
Lakshmi Iyer and John D. Macomber
Teaching Note for [710004].
Keywords: Wealth and Poverty;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Asia;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2009
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India
Lakshmi Iyer
Between 2000 and 2004, India's economy grew by 6.35%. Focuses on the states of Punjab and Kerala, which emphasized sharply different development strategies. The states had to decide whether to focus their investment efforts on physical capital or improving social indicators. Both states faced constraints in the form of budget deficits, competition from other states, and coordination with central government policies.
Keywords: Development Economics;
Capital;
Investment;
Policy;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Business and Government Relations;
Social Issues;
Kerala;
Punjab;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2008 version)
Special Economic Zones in India: Public Purpose and Private Property (A)
Laura Alfaro and Lakshmi Iyer
In 2005, the government of India enacted the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act in order to attract investment, generate export revenues, and create manufacturing jobs. However, several planned projects faced difficulties in acquiring land for setting up the SEZ. In December 2007, the government introduced a new piece of legislation, which proposed to extend the power of eminent domain to allow the government to acquire land for SEZs. Was this the right response to the land acquisition problems of private firms? Was the SEZ strategy the right one for India's economic growth?
Keywords: Acquisition;
Development Economics;
Economic Growth;
Policy;
Government Legislation;
Property;
Business and Community Relations;
Business and Government Relations;
India;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2009
Public Purpose and Private Property (TN) (A) and (B)
Laura Alfaro and Lakshmi Iyer
Teaching Note for [709027] and [709029].
Keywords: Property;
Government and Politics;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Tata Motors in Singur: Public Purpose and Private Property (B)
Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora
In October 2008, Tata Motors canceled their car manufacturing plant in West Bengal state, in the face of widespread farmer protests over land acquisition issues. This meant abandoning a project in which the company had invested $300 million and delaying the launch of the Nano, the world's cheapest car. What strategy could Tata have pursued to avoid this outcome? Would similar problems arise in Gujarat state, where the project had been relocated?
Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown;
Rights;
Emerging Markets;
Property;
Business and Government Relations;
Conflict and Resolution;
Auto Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
West Bengal;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2008
(Revised from original version)
Punjab and Kerala: Regional Development in India (TN)
Lakshmi Iyer
Teaching Note for [707008].
Keywords: India;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2006
(Revised from original 2005 version)
What Should the Federal Reserve Do? Thoughts of Greenspan and Bernanke
Lakshmi Iyer and Noel Maurer
Presents remarks by Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke on monetary policy, explicit inflation targets, and the relative merits of asset price targeting.
Keywords: Inflation and Deflation;
Asset Pricing;
Central Banking;
Financial Strategy;
Policy;
Banking Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2005
(Revised from original 2005 version)
To Trade or Not to Trade: NAFTA and the Prospects for Free Trade in the Americas
Lakshmi Iyer
Discusses the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the United States, Canada, and Mexico, a decade after it came into force in 1994. Keeping in mind NAFTA's effect on jobs, exports, productivity, and economic growth, policy makers had to decide whether to go ahead with the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas being negotiated by 34 countries in the Western hemisphere.
Keywords: History;
Agreements and Arrangements;
Performance Productivity;
Jobs and Positions;
Economic Growth;
Trade;
Foreign Direct Investment;
North and Central America;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2005
To Trade or Not to Trade: NAFTA and the Prospects of Free Trade in the Americas (TN)
Lakshmi Iyer
Keywords: Trade;
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