By Rana Foroohar “A lot has been made in recent years of the record amount of corporate cash on the balance sheets–around $2 trillion in U.S., and the same amount in firms’ bank accounts abroad–as well as the fact that companies…
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Pfizer’s bid for AstraZeneca shows that big pharma is as rotten as the banks
By Mariana Mazzucato “Countries around the world are seeking long-run, innovation-led growth in the “real economy”. This is born of a wish to move away from speculative growth led by short-term financial markets. For this reason, industrial policy is back…
How parasite corporations like Pfizer are chucking U.S. citizenship to escape from taxes
By Lynn Stuart Parramore “Let’s say you’re a giant American corporation like Pfizer, founded in Brooklyn way back in 1849. The fact that you exist and make a profit is largely due to the generous support of U.S. taxpayers. It’s…
Who Invests in the High-Tech Knowledge Base?
By Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) “In this paper, we provide a historical perspective on the interaction of household families, government agencies, and business enterprises, or what we call “the investment triad”, in providing a foundation for the accumulation of…
2014 HBR McKinsey Award, First Place : “Profits Without Prosperity”
The HBR McKinsey Awards, judged by an independent panel of business and academic leaders, commend outstanding articles published each year in Harvard Business Review. The awards were established in 1959 to recognize practical and groundbreaking management thinking. “Profits Without Prosperity” SEPTEMBER…
Why Buffett Should Vote ‘No’ on Coke
On April 24, Rana Foroohar’s interview with William Lazonick on the effects of buybacks on corporate compensation and inequality appeared on Time Magazine: The discussion over inequality is all the rage these days, and it’s been given a new wrinkle…
Why Buffett should say ‘no’ on Coke
By Rana Foroohar “The discussion over inequality is all the rage these days, and it’s been given a new wrinkle with the hoopla over Warren Buffett’s abstention from a vote over Coke’s new compensation plan, which would award billions of…
Fast food failure: How CEI-to-worker pay disparity undermines the industry and the overall economy
By Catherine Ruetschlin “The link between income inequality and economic instability has drawn renewed attention from economists, policy makers, global financial institutions, media, and investors. From Davos to Wall Street to Main Street, there is a growing consensus that inequality…
5 things to know about how corporations block access to everything from miracle drugs to scientific research
By Lynn Stuart Parramore “Should a company be able to patent a breast cancer gene? What about a species of soybean? How about a tool for basic scientific research? Or even a patent for acquiring patents (see: Halliburton)? Intellectual property rights…
Why are we so afraid of a comprehensive jobs plan?
By Jeffrey Madrick “Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever, thinks American-style capitalism is broken, and he blames, in good part, the cult of shareholder value that has been all the rage since the 1980s. Since taking the helm in 2009…
