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Business, Government & the International Economy

Business, Government & the International Economy

  • Faculty
  • Curriculum
  • Seminars & Conferences
  • Awards & Honors
Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors
    • June 2012
    • Editorial

    Why Do Successful Women Feel So Guilty?

    By: Debora Spar

    • June 2012
    • Editorial

    Why Do Successful Women Feel So Guilty?

    By: Debora Spar

    • April 2021
    • Case

    Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era

    By: Marco Tabellini

    • April 2021
    • Case

    Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era

    By: Marco Tabellini

    • 2021
    • Working Paper

    The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China

    By: Meg Rithmire and Hao Chen

    A large literature on state-business relations in China has examined the political role of capitalists and collusion between the state and the private sector. This paper contributes to that literature, and our understanding of the internal differentiation among China’s business elites, by documenting the emergence of a particular kind of large, non-state business group that we argue is more akin to a mafia system than any standard definition of a firm. Drawing on large-N descriptive data as well as deep ethnographic and documentary research, we argue that mafia-like business systems share organizational principles (plunder and obfuscation) and means of growth and survival (relations of mutual endangerment and manipulation of the financial system). Understanding the particular moral economy that underlies mafia-like business systems and their interactions with the state challenges methodological foundations of research on China’s political economy and helps explain recent conflict between high-profile business people and the state.

    • 2021
    • Working Paper

    The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China

    By: Meg Rithmire and Hao Chen

    A large literature on state-business relations in China has examined the political role of capitalists and collusion between the state and the private sector. This paper contributes to that literature, and our understanding of the internal differentiation among China’s business elites, by documenting the emergence of a particular kind of large,...

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

Why Do Successful Women Feel So Guilty?

By: Debora Spar
  • June 2012 |
  • Editorial |
  • The Atlantic
Citation
Register to Read
Related
Spar, Debora. "Why Do Successful Women Feel So Guilty?" The Atlantic (June 28, 2012).

Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era

By: Marco Tabellini
  • April 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Educators
Related
Tabellini, Marco. "Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era." Harvard Business School Case 721-022, April 2021.

The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China

By: Meg Rithmire and Hao Chen
  • 2021 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
A large literature on state-business relations in China has examined the political role of capitalists and collusion between the state and the private sector. This paper contributes to that literature, and our understanding of the internal differentiation among China’s business elites, by documenting the emergence of a particular kind of large, non-state business group that we argue is more akin to a mafia system than any standard definition of a firm. Drawing on large-N descriptive data as well as deep ethnographic and documentary research, we argue that mafia-like business systems share organizational principles (plunder and obfuscation) and means of growth and survival (relations of mutual endangerment and manipulation of the financial system). Understanding the particular moral economy that underlies mafia-like business systems and their interactions with the state challenges methodological foundations of research on China’s political economy and helps explain recent conflict between high-profile business people and the state.
Keywords: China's Political Economy; State-business Relations; Business Groups; Financial Systems; China
Citation
Read Now
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and Hao Chen. "The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-098, March 2021.

ALDDN: Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria

By: Meg Rithmire and Debora L. Spar
  • March 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Food; Rural Scope; Growth and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Nigeria
Citation
Educators
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and Debora L. Spar. "ALDDN: Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria." Harvard Business School Case 721-026, March 2021.

The Trouble with TCE

By: Vincent Pons, Rafael Di Tella and Galit Goldstein
  • March 2020 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Trichloroethylene, or TCE, was a chemical used by tens of thousands of businesses in the United States. It was an affordable tool for many. Yet, TCE had been associated with important health risks, including cancer and autoimmune disease. TCE potentially posed other risks as well: some researchers argued that low doses of TCE caused deformities in fetal hearts, while others argued that there was not enough science to back up this claim. Over twenty years, a vigorous debate encompassing academic, government and industry voices played out around just how toxic TCE was. The American chemical industry and TCE end-users used lobbying to advocate for their positions. A loose coalition of activists, academics and journalists promoted their own, different, perspectives on TCE. Developments in the TCE story were often communicated to the public through investigative reporting, a field of journalism facing economic crisis. The U.S. government and its Environmental Protection Agency were responsible for assessing TCE’s toxicity, leading to secondary policy decisions around how the chemical should be regulated. Yet, by the end of 2020, controversy remained around whether successive governments had been untowardly influenced by special interests in their TCE decision-making. Which stance should the Biden administration take in regards to TCE? More broadly, which broader lessons could be drawn from the TCE case? In particular, should the influence of lobbying on regulations and policies be constrained in any way?
Citation
Educators
Related
Pons, Vincent, Rafael Di Tella, and Galit Goldstein. "The Trouble with TCE." Harvard Business School Case 721-031, March 2021.

Capitalism and the Party-State: The People's Republic of China at 70

By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han
  • March 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: China
Citation
Educators
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and Courtney Han. "Capitalism and the Party-State: The People's Republic of China at 70." Harvard Business School Case 721-040, March 2021.

Political Legitimacy and Global Capital Markets: Malaysia's 1MDB (B)

By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han
  • March 2021 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: Malaysia
Citation
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and Courtney Han. "Political Legitimacy and Global Capital Markets: Malaysia's 1MDB (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-042, March 2021.

Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (B)

By: Meg Rithmire and Gamze Yucaoglu
  • March 2021 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
The case opens in November 2020 as Eyad Alkassar and Mahmoud Fouz, co-founders of Iran’s first and leading ride-hailing platform, Snapp, eagerly await the results of the U.S. presidential elections. The case takes us through the challenging times between November 2019 and November 2020, as the confounders navigated Snapp through an increasingly challenging environment of sanctions, stricter restrictions of big tech companies, and since February 2020, through the operational difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that shook Iran to its core. The case highlights the challenges of operating under sanctions and the different ways the co-founders try to find to keep Snapp alive and asks how the U.S. election results could change the environment in which Snapp operates, as the two presidential candidates have vastly different approaches to their policy to Iran.
Keywords: Sanctions; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Health Pandemics; Transportation Industry; Middle East; Iran
Citation
Related
Rithmire, Meg, and Gamze Yucaoglu. "Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-036, March 2021.
More Publications

In the News

    • 25 Mar 2021
    • Bloomberg

    Pandemic Shopping Habits Are Giving Inflation Experts a Headache

    Re: Alberto Cavallo
    • 24 Mar 2021
    • BNN Bloomberg

    Inflation Is Harder to Measure After a Year of Pandemic Spending

    Re: Alberto Cavallo
    • 20 Mar 2021
    • Yahoo! Finance

    US security focus on Chinese state ownership is not productive, advisory panel is told

    Re: Meg Rithmire
→More Faculty News

HBS Working Knowledge

    • 15 Mar 2021

    Fairness or Control: What Determines Elected Local Leaders’ Support for Hosting Refugees in Their Community?

    by Kristin Fabbe, Eleni Kyrkopoulou, Konstantinos Matakos, and Asli Unan
    • 01 Mar 2021

    How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security

    by Rachel Layne
    • 23 Feb 2021

    Examining Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States

→More Working Knowledge Articles

Harvard Business Publishing

    • March 2012
    • Article

    Macroeconomic Policy and U.S. Competitiveness

    By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Matthew Weinzierl
    • February 2021
    • Case

    Veracity Worldwide: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Risk

    By: Kristin Fabbe
    • 2006
    • Book

    The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception

    By: Debora L. Spar
→More Harvard Business Publishing

Seminars & Conferences

There are no upcoming events.

→More Seminars & Conferences

Faculty Positions

Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.
→Learn More

Contact Information

Business, Government & the International Economy Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
BGIE@hbs.edu

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