Showing 1 - 7 of 7
If incentives persist, so will slavery
News, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 04/09/2018
» Have you ever wondered why business schools do not teach the proper way to whip a worker to obtain maximum effort without damaging the asset? Had business schools existed before the American Civil War, one can conceive of at least a lecture on the subject. Instead, business schools teach about corporate culture and values, on the assumption that maximum effort can be obtained from workers if they identify with the firm's mission and goals.
Whom Do Business associations Represent?
Business, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 03/07/2017
» On whose behalf do business associations speak? Well, business. But who is "business"?
The pitfalls of 'authentic' leadership
Business, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 18/01/2017
» The theme of this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is "Responsible and Responsive Leadership". But one possible reading of Donald Trump's victory in the United States presidential election is that voters these days care less about responsibility than "authenticity." Voters welcomed Trump's reckless comments on sensitive issues because he was speaking his mind and being true to himself. Ordinary politicians, by always saying the "right" thing, seem packaged and staged.
Overcoming the Public-Sector Coordination Problem
Business, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 03/11/2016
» Public-private cooperation or coordination is receiving considerable attention nowadays. Many centres for the study of business and government relations have been created, and researchers have produced a large volume of literature on the design, analysis and evaluation of public-private partnerships. Even the World Economic Forum has been transformed into "an international organisation for public-private cooperation".
Trying to make sense of Venezuela's catastrophe
News, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 04/08/2016
» When we hear of a catastrophe that has befallen a friend, we feel both empathy and a sense of vertigo. We wonder whether it could happen to us: Is this catastrophe the result of some peculiar characteristic that we fortunately do not share? Or are we also vulnerable? If so, can we avoid a similar fate?
Why fighting corruption fails to alleviate poverty
News, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 28/07/2015
» Countries are poor because governments are corrupt. And, unless they ensure that public resources are not stolen, and that public power is not used for private gain, they will remain poor, right?
Capitalism not a cause of poverty
News, Ricardo Hausmann, Published on 24/08/2015
» Capitalism gets blamed for many things nowadays: poverty, inequality, unemployment, even global warming. As Pope Francis said in a recent speech in Bolivia: "This system is by now intolerable: farm workers find it intolerable, labourers find it intolerable, communities find it intolerable, peoples find it intolerable. The earth itself -- our sister, Mother Earth, as Saint Francis would say -- also finds it intolerable."