Professor of Finance and Law
Mihir Desai's academic publications have appeared in leading economics, finance, and law journals. His work has emphasized the appropriate design of tax policy in a globalized setting, the links between corporate governance and taxation, and the internal capital markets of multinational firms. His research has been cited in The Economist, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and several other publications.
(w/ D. Dharmapala) 118 Yale Law Journal Pocket Part, 98 (November 2008).
The rise of significant inbound capital flows originating from sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) has occasioned a debate over the appropriate regulatory and tax treatment of these funds.
Read MoreHarvard Business Review 86, nos. 7/8 (July – August 2008).
Historically, the finance functions in large U.S. and European firms have focused on cost control, operating budgets, and internal auditing. But as corporations go global, a world of finance opens up within them, presenting new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.
Read More(w/ D. Dharmapala and M. Singhal) in National Tax Journal
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) represents a novel tax expenditure program that employs "investable" tax credits to spur production of low-income rental housing.
Read More(w/ C. F. Foley and J. R. Hines Jr.) Journal of Financial Economics, 88:3 (June 2008), 534-553.
Political risks increase the volatility of multinational firm operating returns, prompting firms to adjust their capital structures.
Read MoreThe American, May/June 2008, reprinted in HBS Bulletin, July 2008.
Why the United States should put out the welcome mat to foreign direct investors.
Read More(w/ C. F. Foley and J. R. Hines Jr.) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 1:1 (February 2009), 181-203. (formerly titled “Foreign Direct Investment and Domestic Economic Activity”)
This paper analyzes the relationship between the domestic and foreign operations of American manufacturing firms between 1982 and 2004 by instrumenting for changes in foreign operations with GDP growth rates of the foreign countries in which they invest.
Read More(w/ D. Dharmapala) Tax and Corporate Governance in MPI Studies on Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, 3:1 (2008), 13-30.
How do the tax system and corporate governance arrangements interact?
Read MorePublished in The Financial Times
Remember the bad old days when we tricked ourselves into thinking stock options used to compensate executives did not need to be “expensed” on income statements?
Read More(w/ A. Dyck and L. Zingales) Journal of Financial Economics 84, no. 3 (June 2007), 591-623 (Lead Article).
This paper analyzes the interaction between corporate taxes and corporate governance.
Read More(w/ C. F. Foley and J. R. Hines Jr.) Financial Management 36:1 (Spring 2007) (Lead Article).
This paper analyzes dividend remittances by a large panel of foreign affiliates of U.S. multinational firms.
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Mihir Desai's academic publications have appeared in leading economics, finance, and law journals. His work has emphasized the appropriate design of tax policy in a globalized setting, the links between corporate governance and taxation, and the internal capital markets of multinational firms. His research has been cited in The Economist, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and several other publications.
Mizuho Financial Group Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
