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Benjamin N. Roth

Benjamin N. Roth

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

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Ben Roth is an assistant professor of business administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit, teaching The Entrepreneurial Manager to MBA students. He is a development economist that employs both economic theory and field experimentation to pursue questions in two overlapping agendas: understanding and relaxing the constraints to small-scale entrepreneurship in the developing world, and understanding how investors should behave when they have both financial and social preferences. 

Ben earned a BA in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a PhD in economics from MIT. 

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Entrepreneurial Management
+1 (617) 495-3219
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Benjamin N. Roth
Unit
Entrepreneurial Management
Contact Information
(617) 495-3219
Send Email
Publications

Journal Articles
Journal Articles

  • Lowe, Matt, G.V. Nadhanael, and Benjamin N. Roth. "India's Food Supply Chain during the Pandemic." Art. 102162. Food Policy 105 (December 2021). View Details
  • Arraiz, Irani, Miriam Bruhn, Benjamin N. Roth, Claudia Ruiz-Ortega, and Rodolfo Stucchi. "Borrower Leakage from Costly Screening: Evidence from SME Lending in Peru." Journal of Development Economics 153 (November 2021). View Details
  • Hussam, Reshmaan, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Targeting High Ability Entrepreneurs Using Community Information: Mechanism Design in the Field." American Economic Review 112, no. 3 (March 2022): 861–898. View Details
  • Liu, Ernest, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Contractual Restrictions and Debt Traps." Review of Financial Studies 35, no. 3 (March 2022): 1141–1182. View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., and Ran I. Shorrer. "Making Marketplaces Safe: Dominant Individual Rationality and Applications to Market Design." Management Science 67, no. 6 (June 2021). View Details
  • Karlan, Dean, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Benjamin Roth. "Debt Traps? Market Vendors and Moneylender Debt in India and the Philippines." American Economic Review: Insights 1, no. 1 (June 2019): 27–42. View Details

Book Chapters
Book Chapters

  • Roth, Benjamin N. "Market Design Under Weak Institutions." In More Equal by Design: Economic Design Responses to Inequality, edited by Scott Duke Kominers and Alex Teytelboym. Oxford University Press, forthcoming. View Details

Working Papers
Working Papers

  • Green, Daniel, and Benjamin N. Roth. "The Allocation of Socially Responsible Capital." Working Paper, July 2021. (Revise and Resubmit, Journal of Finance.) View Details
  • Cole, Shawn A., Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin N. Roth. "What Do Impact Investors Do Differently?" Working Paper, September 2022. View Details
  • Karlan, Dean, Matt Lowe, Robert Osei, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Benjamin N. Roth, and Christopher Udry. "Social Protection and Social Distancing During the Pandemic: Mobile Money Transfers in Ghana." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-010, July 2022. View Details
  • Banerjee, Abhijit, Greg Fischer, Dean Karlan, Matt Lowe, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Does the Invisible Hand Efficiently Guide Entry and Exit? Evidence from a Vegetable Market Experiment in India." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-006, July 2022. View Details
  • Rigol, Natalia, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Loan Officers Impede Graduation from Microfinance: Strategic Disclosure in a Large Microfinance Institution." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29427, October 2021. (Revised February 2023.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N. "Impact Investing: A Theory of Financing Social Enterprises." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-078, February 2020. (Revised June 2021.) View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials
Cases and Teaching Materials

  • Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Benjamin N. Roth, and Michael Norris. "A Close Shave at Squire." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-055, January 2022. View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., and Natalia Rigol. "Husk Power: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-064, November 2021. (Revised March 2022.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin. "Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-028, September 2021. (Revised March 2022.) View Details
  • Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth, and Michael Norris. "A Close Shave at Squire." Harvard Business School Case 821-073, July 2021. View Details
  • Khanna, Tarun, Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth, and Brian Trelstad. "Impact Investment, Catalytic Capital and Blended Finance." Harvard Business School Technical Note 321-078, September 2020. (Revised December 2020.) View Details
  • Nanda, Ramana, Benjamin N. Roth, and Olivia Hull. "Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation." Harvard Business School Case 820-007, February 2020. (Revised March 2020.) View Details
  • Nicholas, Tom, Ramana Nanda, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Masayoshi Son and the Vision Fund." Harvard Business School Case 819-041, October 2018. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Natalia Rigol. "Husk Power: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Case 819-069, December 2018. (Revised January 2020.) View Details
All Publications

Ben Roth is an assistant professor of business administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit, teaching The Entrepreneurial Manager to MBA students. He is a development economist that employs both economic theory and field experimentation to pursue questions in two overlapping agendas: understanding and relaxing the constraints to small-scale entrepreneurship in the developing world, and understanding how investors should behave when they have both financial and social preferences. 

Ben earned a BA in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a PhD in economics from MIT. 

Journal Articles
  • Lowe, Matt, G.V. Nadhanael, and Benjamin N. Roth. "India's Food Supply Chain during the Pandemic." Art. 102162. Food Policy 105 (December 2021). View Details
  • Arraiz, Irani, Miriam Bruhn, Benjamin N. Roth, Claudia Ruiz-Ortega, and Rodolfo Stucchi. "Borrower Leakage from Costly Screening: Evidence from SME Lending in Peru." Journal of Development Economics 153 (November 2021). View Details
  • Hussam, Reshmaan, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Targeting High Ability Entrepreneurs Using Community Information: Mechanism Design in the Field." American Economic Review 112, no. 3 (March 2022): 861–898. View Details
  • Liu, Ernest, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Contractual Restrictions and Debt Traps." Review of Financial Studies 35, no. 3 (March 2022): 1141–1182. View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., and Ran I. Shorrer. "Making Marketplaces Safe: Dominant Individual Rationality and Applications to Market Design." Management Science 67, no. 6 (June 2021). View Details
  • Karlan, Dean, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Benjamin Roth. "Debt Traps? Market Vendors and Moneylender Debt in India and the Philippines." American Economic Review: Insights 1, no. 1 (June 2019): 27–42. View Details
Book Chapters
  • Roth, Benjamin N. "Market Design Under Weak Institutions." In More Equal by Design: Economic Design Responses to Inequality, edited by Scott Duke Kominers and Alex Teytelboym. Oxford University Press, forthcoming. View Details
Working Papers
  • Green, Daniel, and Benjamin N. Roth. "The Allocation of Socially Responsible Capital." Working Paper, July 2021. (Revise and Resubmit, Journal of Finance.) View Details
  • Cole, Shawn A., Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Natalia Rigol, and Benjamin N. Roth. "What Do Impact Investors Do Differently?" Working Paper, September 2022. View Details
  • Karlan, Dean, Matt Lowe, Robert Osei, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Benjamin N. Roth, and Christopher Udry. "Social Protection and Social Distancing During the Pandemic: Mobile Money Transfers in Ghana." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-010, July 2022. View Details
  • Banerjee, Abhijit, Greg Fischer, Dean Karlan, Matt Lowe, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Does the Invisible Hand Efficiently Guide Entry and Exit? Evidence from a Vegetable Market Experiment in India." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 23-006, July 2022. View Details
  • Rigol, Natalia, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Loan Officers Impede Graduation from Microfinance: Strategic Disclosure in a Large Microfinance Institution." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29427, October 2021. (Revised February 2023.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N. "Impact Investing: A Theory of Financing Social Enterprises." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-078, February 2020. (Revised June 2021.) View Details
Cases and Teaching Materials
  • Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Benjamin N. Roth, and Michael Norris. "A Close Shave at Squire." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-055, January 2022. View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., and Natalia Rigol. "Husk Power: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-064, November 2021. (Revised March 2022.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin. "Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 822-028, September 2021. (Revised March 2022.) View Details
  • Bussgang, Jeffrey J., Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth, and Michael Norris. "A Close Shave at Squire." Harvard Business School Case 821-073, July 2021. View Details
  • Khanna, Tarun, Ramana Nanda, Benjamin N. Roth, and Brian Trelstad. "Impact Investment, Catalytic Capital and Blended Finance." Harvard Business School Technical Note 321-078, September 2020. (Revised December 2020.) View Details
  • Nanda, Ramana, Benjamin N. Roth, and Olivia Hull. "Prime Coalition: Catalytic Capital for Climate Innovation." Harvard Business School Case 820-007, February 2020. (Revised March 2020.) View Details
  • Nicholas, Tom, Ramana Nanda, and Benjamin N. Roth. "Masayoshi Son and the Vision Fund." Harvard Business School Case 819-041, October 2018. (Revised February 2018.) View Details
  • Roth, Benjamin N., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Natalia Rigol. "Husk Power: Scaling the Venture." Harvard Business School Case 819-069, December 2018. (Revised January 2020.) View Details
Additional Information
  • Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Interest
  • economic development
  • entrepreneurship
  • social entrepreneurship
Additional Information
Curriculum Vitae

Areas of Interest

economic development
entrepreneurship
social entrepreneurship
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