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Spreadsheet supplement for case 712006.

This note on business-government relations introduces students to the state of campaign contributions and lobbying by corporations in the United States. The note develops two hypotheses as to the impact of corporate political engagement: (i) a vehicle to facilitate good government; and (ii) an instrument of special-interest capture. The note can be used to generate a discussion on the following issues: (1) In a democratic capitalist society, what is the appropriate role of business in government? (2) When it comes to political contributions, should corporations have the same rights and responsibilities as individuals? The note also describes the various practical choices businesses face on political engagement, including disclosure options and options to engage through trade or ideological associations. This description can be used to encourage business students to develop an aspiration for their companies' political engagement strategies

In 2013, a new financial services authority, the Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), took over responsibility for regulating capital markets and non-bank financial institutions in Indonesia. OJK was scheduled to take over bank regulation and supervision from the central bank, Bank Indonesia, in 2014. At a time when there was no global consensus on the optimality of separating monetary policy from bank supervision, the creation of the OJK raised many questions. Would the OJK better prepare Indonesia to deal with financial crises? Could an organization whose leaders came from Indonesia's existing economic bureaucracies remain independent of those organizations and from political pressures? Was the creation of the OJK the correct response to public dissatisfaction with Bank Indonesia's handling of the Asian financial crisis and subsequent corruption scandals?

In February 2013, the G-20 finance ministers met in Moscow, Russia to discuss the rising anxieties over a potential international currency war. It was speculated that certain countries were purposely devaluing their currencies in order to improve their competitiveness in global markets. Emerging markets contended that the expansionary monetary policies of the major central banks, such as the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and the Bank of England, were causing significant and detrimental spillover effects, such as currency appreciation, declining exports, and rising inflation, in less developed economies. Conversely, the major central banks insisted that such policies were necessary for reviving economic growth both domestically and internationally. Would these policies successfully create a resurgence of growth? Can expansionary monetary policies be considered "beggar-thy-neighbor" actions by emerging markets? How should developing nations respond?

Following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in late April 2010, the Obama administration organized a massive response operation to contain the enormous amount of oil spreading across the Gulf of Mexico. Attracting intense public attention and, eventually, widespread criticism, the response adhered to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a federal law that the crisis would soon reveal was not well understood - or even accepted - by all relevant parties. This two-part case profiles the efforts of senior officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as they struggled to coordinate the actions of a myriad of actors, ranging from numerous federal partners (including key members of the Obama White House); the political leadership of the affected Gulf States and sub-state jurisdictions; and the private sector. Case A provides an overview of the disaster and early response; discusses the formation of the National Incident Command (NIC), which had responsibility for directing response activities; and explores the NIC's efforts to coordinate the actions of various federal entities. Case B focuses on the challenges the NIC encountered as it sought to engage with state and local actors - an effort that would grow increasingly complicated as the crisis deepened throughout the spring and summer of 2010. Case number 1982.0

Following the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in late April 2010, the Obama administration organized a massive response operation to contain the enormous amount of oil spreading across the Gulf of Mexico. Attracting intense public attention and, eventually, widespread criticism, the response adhered to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a federal law that the crisis would soon reveal was not well understood - or even accepted - by all relevant parties. This two-part case profiles the efforts of senior officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as they struggled to coordinate the actions of a myriad of actors, ranging from numerous federal partners (including key members of the Obama White House); the political leadership of the affected Gulf States and sub-state jurisdictions; and the private sector. Case A provides an overview of the disaster and early response; discusses the formation of the National Incident Command (NIC), which had responsibility for directing response activities; and explores the NIC's efforts to coordinate the actions of various federal entities. Case B focuses on the challenges the NIC encountered as it sought to engage with state and local actors - an effort that would grow increasingly complicated as the crisis deepened throughout the spring and summer of 2010. Case number 1981.0

The case narrates the development of Pittsburgh from the 1940s to 2012. It analyzes the collapse of the steel industry in the early 1980s, the city's subsequent decline, and the city's later re-emergence as a hub for higher education, the tech sector, and the healthcare industry. Attention is given to the public-private partnerships that emerged in Pittsburgh, as well as the economic development and taxation initiatives pursued by different mayors.

The New Carolina Initiative case explores the process of fostering competitiveness in the subnational region, South Carolina, one of the poorest states in the United States. The case has been developed primarily for the use in the course "Microeconomics of Competitiveness", developing the concept of organizations for competitiveness in a subnational region and the elements of constructing an economic strategy. The case also outlines the adopted cluster vision of development for the state and the various task forces created to upgrade the business environment of the state. South Carolina's Council on Competitiveness, New Carolina, is an organization with significant capacity to mobilize regional actors in various task forces and cluster initiatives. Showcasing the complexity and organizational challenges of building a competitiveness initiative, the case emphasizes the importance of engagement from both private and public sector representatives. The case also provides an opportunity to discuss the competitive position of the South Carolina economy in 2011.

In 1980, the city of Kunshan was mere countryside, registering neither on the Chinese government's nor the international business community's radar. By 2010, Kunshan had become the richest city per capita in China and a global technology powerhouse, home to companies such as Foxconn, Compal Electronics, and Wistron. Kunshan's entrepreneurial, self-starting development combined with strategic location and high levels of local government support had been responsible for Kunshan's tremendous growth and success. How could it continue to grow at a rate to maintain its leadership among Chinese entrepreneurial cities? And would the founding of an international, joint-venture campus with Duke and Wuhan University keep the city of Kunshan innovative and ahead of the curve?

In January 2009, Herry Zudianto the Mayor of Yogyakarta was reflecting on the apparent failure of his first effort to involve the private sector in the financing and provision of municipal infrastructure. Seven years earlier the City had awarded a 30-year concession to a local private company to build and operate an intercity bus terminal. Earlier that month, the company had sent the Mayor a letter announcing its intention to return the concession on the grounds that the City had not lived up to its commitments. This case is designed to introduce Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to an audience that has limited prior exposure to them. The case brings out the various motives or goals for PPPs and the circumstances under which those goals are likely to be sensible and achievable. Case Number 1979.0

New research concludes that publicly traded Chinese companies in safety-regulated industries with C-suite executives who previously served in a high-level government position suffer worker fatalities at five times the rate of "unconnected" companies.

The Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan was discovered by Soviet geologists in 1979 but largely ignored for years as the Soviets focused their oil development efforts elsewhere. When Chevron formed a joint venture with the Kazakh government in 1992, development of Tengiz started. By the spring of 2011, although producing 700,000 barrels of oil per day (bbls/d), Tengiz was yielding only half the oil expected. Chevron was under increasing pressure from its partners, including the Kazakh government, to bring the joint venture to its productive promise.

In January 2011 senior Indonesian officials were contemplating the results of a new travel survey that showed that the number of trips in the Jakarta metropolitan area was growing steadily while the share of trips made on public transportation was falling rapidly. Jakarta had a reputation as one of the world's most congested cities, and the situation was getting worse because the population and average incomes in the metropolitan area were growing rapidly. This case is designed for use in a course or executive program that deals with the challenges facing rapidly growing cities in developing countries. It is intended to illustrate the various causes of congestion in a city like Jakarta and to encourage participants to think about the advantages and disadvantages of alternative strategies. Case Number 1976.0

Since opening to the global economy in 1979, but especially since entering the WTO in 2001, China's economy grew at rates around 10% annually by attracting FDI and promoting exports. After the financial crisis that began in 2008 and depressed demand in the United States and Europe, China's growth began to slow, and vulnerabilities in its economy came to light. It became clear to many in China that the growth strategy that got China from 1978 to the present was unsustainable and that the country needed a new strategy to resolve the country's regional inequalities, stimulate domestic consumption, and create growth less vulnerable to global contractions in demand. At exactly this time, between 2007 and 2012, the provincial municipality of Chongqing in China's mountainous southwest became the fastest growing city in China with GDP growth averaging over 15%. Chongqing's growth was the result of a suite of economic and social policies that had been dubbed the "Chongqing Model," a controversial bundle of reforms that promised public and private sector growth with benefits more equitably shared by all citizens. Yet critics found the model politically suspect and over reliant on state-owned enterprises and debt-driven investment. When the city's preeminent leader was publicly fired following a sensational murder scandal, the region's new leaders-and indeed China's new leaders-had to weigh in on the "Chongqing Model." Would it signal a new path to prosperity for post-WTO China?

Supplement for case 713051

In December 2011, the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency issued a joint proposal to dramatically increase fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions of passenger cars and light trucks sold between 2017 and 2025. The joint proposal was created in response to President Obama's call for both agencies to build on a national program that would "produce a new generation of clean vehicles." By 2025, new cars and light trucks were expected to achieve an unprecedented average fuel economy of nearly 50 miles per gallon (mpg), reducing fuel consumption by 4 billion barrels of oil and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide over the lifetimes of the new vehicles. The NHTSA predicted that the national program would generate benefits of $323 billion-primarily in the form of savings in fuel costs for vehicle owners-amounting to four times the cost. This case takes an in-depth look at the NHTSA's regulatory impact analysis for the 2017-2025 fuel economy regulation and examines the proposed social benefits and costs of the program. According to NHTSA's analysis, the private benefits to vehicle owners are several times the cost, while the external benefits are modest and more than offset by the loss in gas tax revenues. The case explores the NHTSA's explanations for the apparent paradox: if there are large net gains for vehicle owners (and for manufacturers who better meet buyers' preferences) from vehicles with higher mpg, why does the market not generate more fuel-efficient vehicles on its own? Could it be standard market failures, perhaps inconsistencies in consumer behavior patterns, or errors in the agency's estimates of costs or benefits? Are the more traditional market failures suggested by the NHTSA (imperfect competition in the auto industry and limited information) valid explanations? Case Number 1973.0

When Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Judy Monroe learned of the emergence of H1N1 (commonly referred to as "Swine Flu") in late April 2009, she had to quickly figure out how to coordinate an effective response within her state's highly balkanized public health system, in which more than 90 local health departments wielded considerable autonomy. Over the next several months, she would come to rely heavily on relationships she had worked hard to establish with local health officials upon becoming commissioner -- but she and her senior advisors would also have to scramble to find new ways to communicate and coordinate with their local partners, who represented jurisdictions that varied considerably in terms of size, population demographics, resources, and public health capacity. Case Number 1974.0

A Nobel laureate on reconnecting the study of economics with the working of the real-world economy.