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• Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2018 (Revised June 2019)

  The Rise of Populism and Italy's Electoral 'Tsunami'

  Rawi Abdelal, Dante Roscini and Elena Corsi

  Italy’s March 2018 elections led to a populist government that included the right-wing League and the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement. To respect their electoral promises, the two parties came up with a budget plan that provided for a public deficit at 2.4%, a figure higher than what the previous administration had promised the EU Commission. On October 23, 2018, the EU Commission rejected the plan asking Italy to revise downwards the public deficit. The same day, Italian bond yields spoke to 4-year highs, up to 3.7% as investors questioned Italy’s capacity to repay its public long-term debt, the second highest in the EU. Would the Italian government be able to implement its plan?

  Keywords: globalized economies; unemployment; extremism; Political Elections; Immigration; Poverty; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Financial Condition; Financial Markets; Italy;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, Dante Roscini, and Elena Corsi. "The Rise of Populism and Italy's Electoral 'Tsunami'." Harvard Business School Case 719-042, November 2018. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2014 (Revised May 2019)

  Bhutan: Governing for Happiness

  Sophus A. Reinert, Thomas Humphrey and Benjamin Safran

  Unique among the world’s countries, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan had abandoned the traditional policy goal of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in favor of pursuing Gross National Happiness (GNH). Famously, Bhutan ranked highly on lists of the happiest countries in spite of a tumultuous history, low life expectancy, a dismal literacy rate, a small and undiversified economy, and low GDP per capita. Everyone, it seemed, from tourists and Hollywood screenwriters to leading development economists, looked to Bhutan for enlightenment and perspective on crises both personal and global. GNH had become the country’s brand and suggested a possible future for capitalism. Was Bhutan on to something? Was there really a tradeoff between growth and happiness, and, if so, was it acceptable? In early 2014, Bhutan’s newly minted Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was faced with these questions as he deliberated on whether to approve a massive new Bhutanese-Indian hydropower collaboration that experts argued would provide energy, foreign exchange, and invaluable jobs, but which also risked undermining the country’s brand as well as its happiness.

  Keywords: Happiness; Economic Growth; Governance; Cost vs Benefits; Bhutan;

  Citation:

  Reinert, Sophus A., Thomas Humphrey, and Benjamin Safran. "Bhutan: Governing for Happiness." Harvard Business School Case 715-024, December 2014. (Revised May 2019.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | February 2019

  Angola Starts Now

  Jeremy Friedman and Sophus A. Reinert

  Teaching Note for HBS No. 719-007.

  Citation:

  Friedman, Jeremy, and Sophus A. Reinert. "Angola Starts Now." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 719-058, February 2019.  View Details

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