15.223  Global Mkts, Nat'l Policies & the Competitive Advantages of Firms

Prof. Huang thought you might be interested in the following talk:

THINK INDIA

Come to hear Vinay Rai about the rise of India and its prospects.

 

Vinay Rai is a MIT graduate, entrepreneur in telecoms and steel, author, and

founder of Rai University in India. Rai University has 14 campuses and 9,000

students nationwide and 9,000 students nationwide.

The talk is sponsored by

15.225 Business and Economy in China and India

Professor Yasheng Huang

April 1, 2008 at 5:45 p.m.

in E51-325

Under the homework tab, click on "15.223 Final Paper" and submit your paper before 5pm on Monday, March 17th.

The system will not allow you to upload a file after the deadline!

Please synthesize information from two sources: 

1. The case, “Life, death, and property rights” and
2. The class discussion of the case. 

Your objective is ONE of the following:

1. Convince your reader why a looser IPR regime for pharmaceutical products, such as the one in India, is justified.
2. Or convince your reader why a looser IPR regime for pharmaceutical products is not justified.

• Assume that your reader is familiar with the main case facts and you should keep the factual summary to a minimum.
• Provide an analytical, rather than, emotional assessment. (An example of the latter could be: People are dying; pharma firms are inhumane.) “Analytical”=based on logic and evidence.
• Anticipate as much as you can what your critics might say to your argument. This is where notes from class discussions can be helpful.
• We will give a slight premium to those papers that argue the less popular of the two positions. 

• Three pages, normal font, double-spaced
• Individual projects
• Paper not a bulleted outline
• Due in class on March 10, 2008, Monday.

Please switch the order of cases for next week (prepare Wednesday's case for Monday and vice versa). This is to help with the second case write-up which will be announced on Monday. The new order should be:

1.  Life, Death, and Property Rights: The Pharmaceutical Industry Faces AIDS in Africa, (HBS case #9-702-049).

2.  Richard Locke: Intellectual Property laws in Brazil: Is breaking patents to save lives right?  

      1.   Evaluate the public and private sector responses to the AIDS crisis in Africa.

2.   Should you make an exception to the general proposition about the sanctity of property rights for the AIDS crisis?

1.  Why did foreign minority shareholders oppose Chubais' proposal?

2.   Was Chubais a good manager for UES?

3.   In what ways did foreign capital help promote or hinder economic reforms?

Please analyze the following case: “Korea: On the Back of a Tiger”

1. Summarize the main, pertinent case facts related to “the miracle growth” of this country 
2. Describe the key components and evolution of the government’s strategy

• Three, double-spaced pages
• Normal font
• Individual projects
• Due next Monday in class on February 25th, 2008.