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Can Government Combat Obesity Without Becoming a "Nanny State": Personal Freedom and Personal Well-Being Don't Have to Be Mutually Exclusive
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3947BC-EPolitical extremists of all persuasions are often paranoid about the slippery slope, worrying that any tiny concessions they make will lead to complete absolution of their position. Free market enthusiasts would rather have a fat and free citizenry, for instance, than consider perceived interventions into personal liberties, even if those interventions are made on behalf of the health of the general public. In this chapter, behavioral scientist a...Starting at €8.20
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Balancing Liberty and the Pursuit of Well-Being: What Can Be Done about the Free Market's Tendency to Exploit Human Weakness
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3946BC-EKnowledge and CommunicationAccording to behavioral scientist and physician Peter Ubel, we humans are not as rational as some libertarians would have us believe, and, therefore, the free market often puts us in a position to harm ourselves. To make matters worse, the free market oftStarting at €8.20
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Kinder, Gentler Paternalism: Why Restricting Consumers' Choices Can Be Good for Them
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3939BC-EIs it ever appropriate to restrict people's liberties to protect them from their own bad decisions? One of the advantages of the nineteenth-century economic view of human nature is that it leads to straightforward answers to these kinds of questions. To almost any policy problem, the believer in rationality replies: leave it up to the market. But unfortunately, the freedom of personal choice has proven not to be the cure-all that its proponents c...Starting at €8.20
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Marketing and the Science of Persuasion: Does Advertising Promote People's Well-Being
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3945BC-EWe live in a capitalist society that is increasingly bombarding us with advertising. We exist in a world where many of the best psychology and neuroscience graduates are being hired by marketing firms or marketing departments within large corporations. These marketers are becoming increasingly sophisticated at targeting and persuading consumers. Many experts believe that advertising and marketing serve the interests of the general public, providi...Starting at €8.20
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Impulsive Behavior and the Battle Between Our Current and Future Selves: Should Free Markets Be Regulated to Protect People's Long-Term Interests
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3941BC-EIt's amazing how frequently we are faced with choices between immediate and delayed gratification. A dieter chooses between the short-term joys of a cupcake and the long-term benefits of losing weight. A young couple decides between the immediate gratification of splurging on an expensive trip or the delayed benefits of investing in retirement. Are such preferences for now or later rational or irrational? Should people be left alone to make such ...Starting at €8.20
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Has LIBOR Lost Its Stature in Derivatives Markets
Walid Busaba; Ken MarkCase IVEY-9B16N058-EFinance, StrategyIn April 2016, a large U.S. proprietary trading group in New York, with a significant fixed-income portfolio, was debating what discount rate to use to value the group’s interest-rate swap portfolio. The counterparties to these swaps were major banks, and the deals were collateralized. Criticisms about the use of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) as a benchmark for valuing these swaps were circulating, and there were reports that LIBOR wa...Starting at €8.20
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Symantec Corporation Convertible Notes With Call Spread
Walid Busaba; Zeigham Khokher; Guorong YangCase IVEY-9B10N018-EFinanceThe board of directors of Symantec Corporation asked a consultant for an independent opinion on an important financing decision. Symantec had been working with several investment banks on a plan to raise debt to repurchase common shares. The consultant found it to be an interesting financing plan; whereas repurchasing shares immediately would increase Symantec's financial leverage, converting the notes in the future would reduce leverage at a pot...Starting at €8.20
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Gulf Bank: Re-Building a Bank
Walid Busaba; Zeigham Khokher; Assem Safieddine; Ken MarkCase IVEY-9B11N008-EFinance, StrategyIn December 2009, about a year after it suffered a crisis when clients walked away from massive derivative losses, Gulf Bank’s new CEO is trying to change the governance and operation of Gulf Bank. This case focuses on a turnaround situation and provides students with insight into evolving corporate governance standards in Kuwait. After assessing the situation that the CEO faces, students have to decide what change he should pursue and how he sho...Starting at €8.20
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Irrational Tastes and Bottomless Soup Bowls: Our Unconscious Eating Habits and What They Tell Us about the Pitfalls of Free Markets
Ubel, Peter A.Book Chapter HBS-3940BC-EFree markets operate under the assumption that human beings make rational choices about consumption. Some market enthusiasts have gone so far as to contend that even obesity is a lifestyle choice and, therefore, society should leave people alone to determine their optimal waistlines. Behavioral scientist and physician Peter Ubel, however, argues that it's actually the interaction of modern markets with genetics and social factors, and rational wi...Starting at €8.20
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Poseidon Concepts Corporation: Boom To Bust
Walid Busaba; Nourhene Ben Youssef; Saqib A. KhanCase IVEY-9B18B001-EAccounting and ControlOn February 25, 2013, the chief investment officer at University of Regina Investing (URI) was reviewing the draft copy of the annual report for 2012 that was to be submitted to the client, the University of Regina. One investment that stood out was Poseidon Concepts Corporation, which the fund had bought at $14.02 per share in April 2012, had reached a high of CA$16.02 in September 2012, and had eventually lost all stock value. The chief investm...Starting at €8.20