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Finance

Finance

  • Faculty
  • Curriculum
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  • Awards & Honors
  • Doctoral Students
Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students
    • February 2021
    • Case

    The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

    By: Mihir Desai, Ruth Page, Suzanne Antoniou and Leanne Fan

    How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants, including Representative Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, believe they should be addressed through reparations and have consequently continued to push the government of Tulsa to pay reparations for the massacre. In 2020, after no direct reparations and largely symbolic governmental efforts, proponents of reparations wondered if that call would finally be answered. The upcoming centennial of the massacre, the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement, and discussions within the U.S. about reparations broadly have made the issue more salient. The case guides students to consider the specific issue of reparations for the Tulsa Massacre, the idea of reparations generally, and the use of reparations to respond to the effects of slavery and racist governmental policies in the U.S. The student also considers the role of business in responding to racial justice issues. The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.

    • February 2021
    • Case

    The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

    By: Mihir Desai, Ruth Page, Suzanne Antoniou and Leanne Fan

    How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants, including Representative Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, believe they should be addressed through reparations and have consequently continued to push the government of Tulsa to pay reparations for the massacre. In 2020, after no direct...

    • February 2021
    • Case

    Lidya: Bringing Nigerian FinTech Innovation to Global Small and Medium Enterprises

    By: Lauren Cohen and Spencer C.N. Hagist

    Lidya CEO Tunde Kehinde must size up options for the expansion of his novel lending practices that drastically reduce the credit cycle in his developing Nigeria, and determine if expansion into Eastern Europe will prove successful or disasterous.

    • February 2021
    • Case

    Lidya: Bringing Nigerian FinTech Innovation to Global Small and Medium Enterprises

    By: Lauren Cohen and Spencer C.N. Hagist

    Lidya CEO Tunde Kehinde must size up options for the expansion of his novel lending practices that drastically reduce the credit cycle in his developing Nigeria, and determine if expansion into Eastern Europe will prove successful or disasterous.

    • 2021
    • Working Paper

    FinTech Lending and Cashless Payments

    By: Boris Vallée, Pulak Ghosh and Yao Zeng

    This study provides a new perspective to understand the rise and future potential of FinTech lending by linking it to the informational role of cashless payments. We uncover both theoretically and empirically a synergy between FinTech lending and cashless payments. FinTech lenders screen borrowers more e ciently when borrowers use more cashless payments that produce transferrable and veri able information. Because borrowers expect lenders to rely on such payment information to screen them, a strategic consideration for a borrower to stand out of other borrowers then pushes more borrowers to adopt cashless payments. Using novel loan-level data from a large Indian FinTech lender who focuses on small-business lending, we nd that a larger use of veri able cashless payments (relative to cash) predicts a higher chance of loan approval, a lower interest rate, and lower default conditional on the interest rate obtained. These relationships are more pronounced for higher-quality rms. The uncovered synergy provides a plausible explanation for the joint rise of FinTech lending and cashless payments, and suggests an alternative banking model without a balance sheet or traditional banking relationships. Our ndings also provide new policy implications on data sharing and open banking.

    • 2021
    • Working Paper

    FinTech Lending and Cashless Payments

    By: Boris Vallée, Pulak Ghosh and Yao Zeng

    This study provides a new perspective to understand the rise and future potential of FinTech lending by linking it to the informational role of cashless payments. We uncover both theoretically and empirically a synergy between FinTech lending and cashless payments. FinTech lenders screen borrowers more e ciently when borrowers use more cashless...

About the Unit

Our strategy is to assemble and nurture a faculty whose interests and skills complement each other, and who work well together:

a) to produce a broad range of finance-related research that is published in top-tier scientific and practitioner journals, and that addresses issues of present and future importance to managers (including regulators and policy makers);

b) to develop highly-relevant and intellectually rigorous MBA and executive education courses; and

c) to mentor future academics through the Business Economics doctoral program.

Our applied focus and access to business organizations are major advantages which are reinforced by our students and our case-based approach. We have a faculty with broad expertise, and we have resources, field contacts, and institutional support, all of which we can leverage to do richer work and be more productive than we could at other institutions.

Recent Publications

Zillow Offers: Winning Online Real Estate 2.0

By: Marco Di Maggio, Luis M. Viceira and Julia Kelley
  • February 2021 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Di Maggio, Marco, Luis M. Viceira, and Julia Kelley. "Zillow Offers: Winning Online Real Estate 2.0 ." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 221-071, February 2021.

The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

By: Mihir Desai, Ruth Page, Suzanne Antoniou and Leanne Fan
  • February 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants, including Representative Regina Goodwin of Tulsa, believe they should be addressed through reparations and have consequently continued to push the government of Tulsa to pay reparations for the massacre. In 2020, after no direct reparations and largely symbolic governmental efforts, proponents of reparations wondered if that call would finally be answered. The upcoming centennial of the massacre, the resurgent Black Lives Matter movement, and discussions within the U.S. about reparations broadly have made the issue more salient. The case guides students to consider the specific issue of reparations for the Tulsa Massacre, the idea of reparations generally, and the use of reparations to respond to the effects of slavery and racist governmental policies in the U.S. The student also considers the role of business in responding to racial justice issues. The link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.
Keywords: Decision Choices And Conditions; Costs And Consequences; Decisions; Judgment And Decision-making; Race; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Values And Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, And Reforms; Government Legislation; Government And Politics; Government Administration; Lawsuit; Leading Change; Mission And Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility And Impact; Conflict Resolution; Conflict Management; Motivation And Incentives; Perspective Taking; Prejudice; Bias; Civil Society Or Community; Social Issues; Decision Making; Cost Vs Benefits; Judgments; Race; Ethics; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, And Reforms; Policy; Government And Politics; Government Legislation; History; Lawsuits And Litigation; Legal Liability; Oklahoma; Tulsa; United States
Citation
Educators
Purchase
Related
Desai, Mihir, Ruth Page, Suzanne Antoniou, and Leanne Fan. "The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 221-707, February 2021.

Highfields Capital and McDonald’s

By: Mark Egan
  • February 2021 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Citation
Purchase
Related
Egan, Mark. "Highfields Capital and McDonald’s." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 221-069, February 2021.

Project Helios: Harvesting the Sun

By: Mark Egan and E. Scott Mayfield
  • February 2021 (Revised February 2021) |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 219-009.
Citation
Purchase
Related
Egan, Mark, and E. Scott Mayfield. "Project Helios: Harvesting the Sun." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 221-072, February 2021. (Revised February 2021.)

Lidya: Bringing Nigerian FinTech Innovation to Global Small and Medium Enterprises

By: Lauren Cohen and Spencer C.N. Hagist
  • February 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Lidya CEO Tunde Kehinde must size up options for the expansion of his novel lending practices that drastically reduce the credit cycle in his developing Nigeria, and determine if expansion into Eastern Europe will prove successful or disasterous.
Keywords: Economics; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Strategy; Nigeria
Citation
Educators
Related
Cohen, Lauren, and Spencer C.N. Hagist. "Lidya: Bringing Nigerian FinTech Innovation to Global Small and Medium Enterprises." Harvard Business School Case 221-083, February 2021.

Bairong and the Promise of Big Data

By: Lauren Cohen, Xiaoyan Zhang and Spencer C.N. Hagist
  • February 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Bairong CEO Felix Zhang, in launching his credit scoring start-up that incorporates 74,000 variables per individual, found strong initial success. However, the shifting regulatory environment, growing breadth of competitors, difficulties in retaining top talent, and uncertainty around the accumulation and protection of data that fuels the company all threaten the company's stability during its IPO. Defining exactly how his firm will make its mark, and remain indispensible amongst a massive and ever sharpening FinTech landscape, will test Zhang's abilities at the helm and make or break his corner of the industry.
Keywords: Finance; China
Citation
Educators
Related
Cohen, Lauren, Xiaoyan Zhang, and Spencer C.N. Hagist. "Bairong and the Promise of Big Data." Harvard Business School Case 221-068, February 2021.

FinTech Lending and Cashless Payments

By: Boris Vallée, Pulak Ghosh and Yao Zeng
  • 2021 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
This study provides a new perspective to understand the rise and future potential of FinTech lending by linking it to the informational role of cashless payments. We uncover both theoretically and empirically a synergy between FinTech lending and cashless payments. FinTech lenders screen borrowers more e ciently when borrowers use more cashless payments that produce transferrable and veri able information. Because borrowers expect lenders to rely on such payment information to screen them, a strategic consideration for a borrower to stand out of other borrowers then pushes more borrowers to adopt cashless payments. Using novel loan-level data from a large Indian FinTech lender who focuses on small-business lending, we nd that a larger use of veri able cashless payments (relative to cash) predicts a higher chance of loan approval, a lower interest rate, and lower default conditional on the interest rate obtained. These relationships are more pronounced for higher-quality rms. The uncovered synergy provides a plausible explanation for the joint rise of FinTech lending and cashless payments, and suggests an alternative banking model without a balance sheet or traditional banking relationships. Our ndings also provide new policy implications on data sharing and open banking.
Keywords: Fintech; Lending; Payments; Data Sharing
Citation
Read Now
Related
Vallée, Boris, Pulak Ghosh, and Yao Zeng. "FinTech Lending and Cashless Payments." Working Paper, February 2021.

The Effects of Local Government Financial Distress: Evidence from Toxic Loans

By: Boris Vallee and Julien Sauvagnat
  • 2021 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
We examine the response from both local governments and their voters to a sudden increase in public debt burden. We exploit plausibly exogenous variation in the ex post cost of toxic loans, a notorious nancial innovation adopted by a large number of local governments. A large increase in the debt burden of a local government results in a signi cant reduction in its investments, but leaves expenses and taxes mostly unchanged. This e ect is dampened for local governments that are more politically contested. An increase in public debt reduces the likelihood of re-election for incumbent mayor and its political party. Overall, these ndings support the existence of a public debt overhang e ect, which binds di erently depending on the political context as contested mayors strive to maintain investments.
Citation
Read Now
Related
Vallee, Boris, and Julien Sauvagnat. "The Effects of Local Government Financial Distress: Evidence from Toxic Loans." Working Paper, February 2021.
More Publications

In the News

    • 15 Feb 2021
    • Barron's

    This Is Where the Real Stock Market Bubble Is

    Re: Robin Greenwood
    • 23 Dec 2020
    • Knowledge@Wharton

    Why the Growth of Impact Investing Depends on Data

    Re: Shawn Cole
    • 16 Dec 2020
    • Bloomberg

    To Make a Building Healthier, Stop Sanitizing Everything

    Re: John Macomber
→More Faculty News

HBS Working Knowledge

    • 16 Feb 2021

    To Fight Climate Change, Should Green Investors Reconsider Big Oil?

    by Kristen Senz
    • 08 Feb 2021

    In the Red: Overdrafts, Payday Lending, and the Underbanked

    by Marco Di Maggio, Angela Ma, and Emily Williams
    • 05 Jan 2021

    The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting

    by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun, and Quoc H. Nguyen
→More Working Knowledge Articles

Harvard Business Publishing

    • March 2012
    • Article

    How to Make Finance Work

    By: Robin Greenwood and David S. Scharfstein
    • February 2021
    • Case

    The Tulsa Massacre and the Call for Reparations

    By: Mihir Desai, Ruth Page, Suzanne Antoniou and Leanne Fan
    • 2017
    • Book

    HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company

    By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
→More Harvard Business Publishing

Seminars & Conferences

Mar 05
  • 05 Mar 2021

Hillary Stein, Harvard Business School

Finance/Economics Ph.D. Lunch Seminar
→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

Finance Unit
Harvard Business School
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
financeunit@hbs.edu

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