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In 2006, with healthcare costs and the number of uninsured rising, Massachusetts passed landmark legislation that aimed to provide health insurance to everyone in the state. A product of bipartisan collaboration between a legislature dominated by Democrats and a Republican governor, the law contained several major innovations, including: mandates requiring residents to purchase health insurance and businesses to contribute toward employees' health care costs; programs to offer subsidized health insurance plans to low-income residents and to help wealthier individuals and small businesses buy coverage from private providers; and an expansion of the state's Medicaid program to cover more children in low-income families. This case explores some of the initial successes of the law's implementation, but also describes a number of challenges associated with it- not least of which was that within a year of the law's passage, Massachusetts, along with the rest of the nation, would endure a severe and protracted recession. Worsening economic conditions not only led to worries about the cost of expanding healthcare coverage, but also had serious implications for wellness initiatives and public health programs, which faced dramatic budget cuts. Exploring both the policy innovations of the law and the negative consequences of a poor economy, the case raises a number of points about the potential benefits of near-universal healthcare - while highlighting some officials' concerns that an overemphasis on expanding coverage could detract from other investments in public health programming. Case number 1995.0

In 2015, King Salman of Saudi Arabia was juggling several balls as the kingdom's new monarch. At home, there were pressures for liberalization, from women and youth, and pressures for more conservative religious observance and policy from the Muslim "ulema." His domestic economic policy, which entailed diversification, infrastructure construction, education and a move towards a "knowledge economy," remained difficult to implement because of oil's immense role in the GDP, trade, and the budget. Internationally, Saudi Arabia's Middle East region was a mess; troubles as always with Israel and Palestine, but also with Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Iran. In all of this, a central question loomed: could Saudi Arabia modernize without westernizing?

In 1989 Michael C. Jensen wrote an article for HBR titled "Eclipse of the Public Corporation," in which he analyzed early leveraged buyouts and identified a new form of corporate organization, the LBO association, which he believed would eventually outperform the traditional public company. Here Martin agrees with Jensen's assessment but acknowledges that it won't come to pass for some time, primarily because LBO associations rely on the existence of a robust public market to make their model work.

Teach For China was founded in 2008 with the mission of expanding educational opportunity across China. By 2013, Andrea Pasinetti's lofty dream had taken flight: over 300 graduates from top American and Chinese universities were participating in its 2-year teaching fellowships in more than 87 rural Chinese schools. The organization had grown from a founding team of three in a shoebox office to an 80-person operation headquartered in Beijing with teams in six other locations across China. Teach For China adapted the model pioneered by Teach For America to meet the needs of the educationally under-resourced of rural China. Led by an American, could Teach For China reshape its international identity and become an enduring Chinese institution? Could Teach For China manage regulatory risks and challenge public and government skepticism of the still-nascent and highly volatile nonprofit sector? Would Teach For China be able to sustainably scale its model to truly end educational inequality in China?

Enrique Peña Nieto, the presidential candidate of the old Mexican ruling party elected in 2012, passed the most fundamental reforms in at least two decades. They included allowing private competition in the energy sector, including with the state-owned oil company, Pemex; strengthening competition in the telecoms industry; promoting private-bank and public development-bank lending. Also, political reforms allowed re-election (formerly prohibited) to all legislative posts, and gave key regulatory agencies independence from the executive. Would these reforms actually be implemented on the ground? Would they achieve good growth for more jobs and better income distribution? Would they finally make Mexican democracy work, or partly restore the hegemony of the old ruling party?

In the fall of 2013, the people of Ukraine disagreed passionately whether their country should intensify ties with the European Union or Russia. After President Yanukovych rejected the free trade agreement with the EU in November, thousands of Ukrainians peacefully protested. But the protest movement morphed into a violent, deadly confrontation in January, culminating in February in mass slaughter, an overthrow of government, foreign invasion, and international crisis. The four months that shook Ukraine is a case study on the interrelated problems of geopolitical struggle, politics of economic pacts and clash of regional economic blocks, post-imperial disintegration and trade, and identity and interdependence.

In 1985, Don St. Pierre Sr. became President of Beijing Jeep, the troubled joint venture between American Motor Corporation and the Chinese government to build Jeep Cherokees in China. Just over a decade later in 1996, leveraging contacts from his time in the automotive industry, he founded ASC Fine Wines with his son, Don Jr. Despite many challenges, from building a distribution network from the ground up to Chinese Customs throwing Don Jr. in prison, the St. Pierres prevailed, and ASC was standing tall as China's number-one fine wine importer by volume and value in 2013. ASC had developed a reputation for quality of product and service, beating out the competition of private wine importers and state-owned enterprises. What lessons had this father-son team learned in their 20 years of doing business in China? Would ASC make the transition from being a family-run business to a part of Suntory Holdings and still thrive? Could ASC under its leadership continue to adapt to the changing market for fine wine in China?

This strategy case describes an initiative in the Western Cape province of South Africa to capitalize on an oil boom off the western coast of Africa by cultivating an industrial "cluster" of complementary businesses with the capacity to service, repair, and build components for oil and gas drilling vessels and equipment. The first half of the case lays out the initial thinking, planning, and strategizing. It includes the motive for launching the initiative, reasons to think the Western Cape was well-positioned to make a success of it, and anticipated obstacles. The second half summarizes the first ten years of the initiative, in which a string of difficulties-some foreseen, some not-severely limits the initiative's progress. This includes a shift in priorities in the National Ports Authority, a problematic deal for making port infrastructure improvements, and some features of local corporate culture. The case ends with reflections from two of the initiative's biggest advocates, predicting that new political developments and a possible shift in strategic approach will allow the effort better success in the coming years. Case Number 2002.0

U.S. companies seeking to export their products are often thwarted by widespread anti-American sentiment in regions such as Asia and the Middle East. However, new research finds that segments in those regions keenly identify with U.S. urban youth culture--the world of hip-hop and rap--and identifies nontraditional sources of influence (TV shows, music and music videos, athletes and other celebrities) through which companies can reach them.

The executive director of the Global Solution Networks program at the Rotman School of Management calls on business leaders to engage with other sectors in addressing issues of sustainability, social justice, and public well-being.

In the 1990s, two entrepreneurs made daring, early entries into mobile telecommunications in Sub-Saharan Africa, both seeing great market opportunities there. One firm, Adesemi, would ultimately go bankrupt. The other firm, Celtel, would ultimately succeed and make its founder, Mo Ibrahim, a star of the global business community. Why the difference in outcome? Emerging markets often present weak rule of law, bringing many challenges to business success-from the demand for bribes to regulatory obstacles, hold-up problems, and even civil war. This case explores strategies that can limit these critical non-market risks in foreign direct investment and entrepreneurship. Students will step into the shoes of both companies by exploring their entry strategies, wrestling with the challenges they faced, and diagnosing the reasons why a shared insight about a new business opportunity turned out to be prescient-and led to extremely different endpoints.

Taxing corporations is popular, but why? Corporations do not bear the burden of taxes, people do, and the incidence of the corporate income tax burden is likely to be far different from what many of its supporters assume. Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

Per dollar of revenue, no tax policy generates more sound and fury than the taxation of estates. To supporters, the tax is a break on the concentration of wealth and power and an easy way to fund redistribution. To opponents, the tax is an unjust punishment of the frugal that sacrifices economic growth for short-term interests. Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

In the first decade of the 21st century, national debt as a share of GDP rose dramatically in the United States and across the developed world. This case consists of excerpts from leading commentators explaining and commenting on this trend and the economic and moral problems it poses. Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

The case focuses on the challenges still confronting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the end of 2013, a year after he has been in office. It also gives an overview of Japan's earlier economic performance, focusing primarily on the period after it suffered a stock market and real estate crash in 1989-1992. During his first year in office, Abe introduced three sets of policies designed both to reverse the deflation that had plagued Japan since around 2000 and to increase the Japanese growth rate. The first of this three-pronged approach consisted of appointing a central bank governor who committed himself to raising the inflation rate and who vastly expanded the Bank of Japan's balance sheet in an effort to accomplish this. The second involved a fiscal policy plan whose initial thrust was expansionary, but which also sought to reduce future budget deficits. The last one involved a series of microeconomic reforms aimed at expanding GDP and labor productivity. These included initiatives aimed at increasing female labor force participation to compensate for Japan's aging population, reforms of the electric power sector directed at reducing electricity costs, and efforts designed to promote the "health and longevity sector." The case ends by discussing Abe's foreign policy challenges, including Korea's and China's reactions to visits by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine.

It is impossible to discuss national competitiveness without considering cities and the regions they anchor. Cities are transportation hubs, centers of commercial exchange, and the locus of lives. They thrive by the ways they connect to the world. Demographic changes in recent years-such as the decreasing popularity of cars and increasing urban populations-have implications for 21st century transportation and infrastructure. This is apparent in the case of Chicago, a global city in the vanguard of change. This paper focuses on five major 21st century transportation and infrastructure projects in Chicago: rail decongestion; airport modernization; mass transit modernization; a complete streets plan; and an infrastructure trust as a financing innovation. It also discusses leadership by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to create an integrated strategy that includes technology and education, and how he executes on it.

The "dependency ratio" assumes that every adult below age 65 contributes to society, and everybody above 65 is a burden. The author argues that education and health are important factors in addition to age.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, there has been widespread agreement on the need for public companies to build value for the long term. Nonetheless, because of pressure from financial markets, a detrimental focus on short-term performance persists. Reversing this trend, the authors say, depends on the leadership of major asset owners such as pension funds, insurance firms, and mutual funds. They should act by taking four practical, proven steps: 1 Define long-term objectives and risk appetite, and invest accordingly. Major asset owners should set a multiyear time frame for creating value, decide how much underperformance they can tolerate in the short term, and then align their investments with this agenda. 2 Practice engagement and active ownership. Big investors should cultivate ongoing relationships with the companies they invest in, collaborating with management to optimize corporate strategy and governance. 3 Demand long-term metrics from companies to improve investment decision making. Rather than focusing on quarterly financial statements, investors should seek to obtain and analyze data that indicate a company's long-term health. 4 Structure institutional governance to support a long-term approach. Big investors must have competent board members committed to investing for the long term, as well as policies and mechanisms to translate this philosophy into action.

A fast-growing Macau-based airline backed by private US investors faces a dramatic expropriation in the wake of the first change of head of government since the former Portuguese colony became a Special Administrative Region of China. The case allows students to explore what Foreign Direct Investors can do to foresee a possible expropriation event and what options they might consider to protect themselves ex-ante or fight the outcome ex-post.