Business, Government & the International Economy
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
Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era
By: Marco Tabellini
- April 2021 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
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.
ALDDN: Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria
By: Meg Rithmire and Debora L. Spar
- March 2021 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
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?
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
Political Legitimacy and Global Capital Markets: Malaysia's 1MDB (B)
By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han
- March 2021 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Keywords: Malaysia
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.