Business, Government & the International Economy
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- June 2024
- Article
Real Growth in Space Manufacturing Output Substantially Exceeds Growth in the Overall Space Economy
By: Tina Highfill and Matthew WeinzierlAccurately measuring real economic output in the space economy is made difficult by the rapid increase in capabilities and decrease in prices of launch and satellite technologies achieved over the past two decades. Nominal measures of output in space will tend to underestimate real growth if customers are paying lower prices for better services over time. In this paper, we use price indexes that apply techniques to the space economy that have been used for decades to adjust nominal measures of output in sectors such as information technology, including matched-model and explicit hedonic quality adjustment. We find that adjusting for price and quality changes in the space economy has substantial effects on estimated growth in economic output, especially across its sectors. Price increases over time in the space information sector, which is dominated by direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television, mean that real growth has been slower than nominal growth since at least 2012, the typical pattern in industries not undergoing rapid technological change. In sharp contrast, rapid price decreases and quality increases in other areas—especially launch and manufacturing of satellite, earth observation, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) equipment—have meant that nominal growth rates substantially understate real growth rates in those industries. Given the central importance of space to our modern economy, having accurate information on growth in the space economy is vital for efficiently allocating the substantial private and public investment being devoted to its development.
- June 2024
- Article
Real Growth in Space Manufacturing Output Substantially Exceeds Growth in the Overall Space Economy
By: Tina Highfill and Matthew WeinzierlAccurately measuring real economic output in the space economy is made difficult by the rapid increase in capabilities and decrease in prices of launch and satellite technologies achieved over the past two decades. Nominal measures of output in space will tend to underestimate real growth if customers are paying lower prices for better services...
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- 2024
- Working Paper
Social Movements and Public Opinion in the United States
By: Amory Gethin and Vincent PonsRecent social movements stand out by their spontaneous nature and lack of stable leadership, raising doubts on their ability to generate political change. This article provides systematic evidence on the effects of protests on public opinion and political attitudes. Drawing on a database covering the quasi-universe of protests held in the United States, we identify 14 social movements that took place from 2017 to 2022, covering topics related to environmental protection, gender equality, gun control, immigration, national and international politics, and racial issues. We use Twitter data, Google search volumes, and high-frequency surveys to track the evolution of online interest, policy views, and vote intentions before and after the outset of each movement. Combining national-level event studies with difference-in-differences designs exploiting variation in local protest intensity, we find that protests generate substantial internet activity but have limited effects on political attitudes. Except for the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, which shifted views on racial discrimination and increased votes for the Democrats, we estimate precise null effects of protests on public opinion and electoral behavior.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Social Movements and Public Opinion in the United States
By: Amory Gethin and Vincent PonsRecent social movements stand out by their spontaneous nature and lack of stable leadership, raising doubts on their ability to generate political change. This article provides systematic evidence on the effects of protests on public opinion and political attitudes. Drawing on a database covering the quasi-universe of protests held in the United...
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- April 2024
- Article
East-Central Europe: The Young and the Far-Right
By: Laura JakliEast-Central Europe’s young adults are at an ideological crossroads. They are significantly more progressive on issues of gender equality and gay rights than prior generations. However, their social progressivism is not wholesale. 18–30 year olds in the European Union’s Eastern member states are increasingly anti-immigration, skeptical of EU integration, and devalue minority rights. Some are also open to ‘strong leader’ alternatives to their ailing democracies. Far right parties recognize this twin turn—away from Western multiculturalism and from democracies that fail to represent them—as a political opportunity, making explicit appeals to East-Central Europe’s youngest voters. Despite Western stereotypes about youth progressivism, there is potential for East-Central Europe’s young adults to strengthen anti-democratic movements on the right.
- April 2024
- Article
East-Central Europe: The Young and the Far-Right
By: Laura JakliEast-Central Europe’s young adults are at an ideological crossroads. They are significantly more progressive on issues of gender equality and gay rights than prior generations. However, their social progressivism is not wholesale. 18–30 year olds in the European Union’s Eastern member states are increasingly anti-immigration, skeptical of EU...
About the Unit
The BGIE Unit conducts research on, and teaches about, the economic, political, social, and legal environment in which business operates. The Unit includes scholars trained in economics, political science, and history; in its work, it draws on perspectives from all three of these disciplines.
The following demonstrates one way of classifying the approaches the Unit takes to learning and teaching.
- The Unit examines the “rules” and policies established by government and other non-business institutions that affect business in the United States.
- The Unit turns to history to understand the origins of today’s business environment as well as some of the alternatives that have emerged from time to time.
- The Unit examines other countries’ business environments and their historical development.
- The BGIE group is deeply interested in the impact of globalization and the way rules are emerging to govern international economic transactions as globalization proceeds.
Recent Publications
Real Growth in Space Manufacturing Output Substantially Exceeds Growth in the Overall Space Economy
- June 2024 |
- Article |
- Acta Astronautica
Zegna
- April 2024 |
- Teaching Note |
- Faculty Research
Social Movements and Public Opinion in the United States
- 2024 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
East-Central Europe: The Young and the Far-Right
- April 2024 |
- Article |
- Journal of Democracy
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Bets on Clean Hydrogen
- March 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
South Africa: Growth and Inequality
- March 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Exports in Disguise: Trade Re-Routing During the U.S.-China Trade War
- 2024 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy
- 2024 |
- Chapter |
- Faculty Research
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.