Business, Government, and the International Economy is a course about how the world works. More specifically, BGIE (pronounced “biggie”) is a course of study through which we seek to understand better the economic, political, and historical forces that determine the environment in which businesses, and private sector institutions more generally, operate. Throughout their careers, business leaders are asked to formulate and lead their firms’ responses to the external environment. They may also have the chance to shape that environment by influencing government policies.
Course Objective
The objective of the BGIE course is for students to acquire and practice applying the analytical tools, contextual knowledge, habits of critical thinking, judgment, and—crucially—intellectual humility necessary for rigorously understanding, intelligently reacting to, and responsibly shaping public policy and the environment of business.
HBS graduates report that they use what they learned in BGIE differently at different points in their careers. Many students use what they learned about macroeconomic statistics and theory, political competition, and the state-of-play in major countries and the global economy as soon as they graduate. As they advance in their careers, they draw increasingly on what BGIE teaches about the operation of global institutions, the examples set by political leaders, and the historical and philosophical underpinnings of major policy debates. Many HBS graduates find that, as prominent leaders, their opinions on the issues we address in BGIE are in demand and may have significant influence on policy; some HBS graduates have become senior policymakers and taken on direct responsibility for setting policy. Whatever roles and responsibilities they take on, students acquire insights in BGIE that improve their ability to lead and make a difference in the world.
Curriculum: The BGIE Twenty
In keeping with its unconventional nature, BGIE uses a unique intellectual framework—The BGIE Twenty—to structure its curriculum. Each year, the BGIE faculty decide on the twenty “ideas” that we believe are the most important for students to study in pursuit of the course’s objective. As scholars of economics, history, and political science, we bring an interdisciplinary approach to constructing and revising The BGIE Twenty, and we intend for it to have pedagogical and intellectual impact beyond our classrooms. Each element of the BGIE Twenty is highlighted during at least one case discussion and elaborated upon in a separate technical note. We also provide suggested supplemental readings to facilitate deeper study by interested students. Thus, when students complete the BGIE course, they have engaged with a curated selection of ideas that their faculty have found most valuable in analyzing how the world works.