Research
Publications
Crisis Innovation and National Competitiveness
For a summary of our work on this theme, please see this NBER Reporter article.
11. America, Jump-started: World War II R&D and the Takeoff of the U.S. Innovation System
American Economic Review, 113(12), 3323-3356. 2023.
(with Bhaven Sampat)
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: NBER Digest (Sep 2020), Axios, AEIdeas, Mises Institute, Brookings Institution (1, 2), New York Times
Cited in the 2023 Economic Report of the President
Data on OSRD contracts and patents available here
10. The World War II Crisis Innovation Model: What Was It, and Where Does It Apply?
(with Bhaven Sampat)
Research Policy, 52(9), 104845. 2023.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: AAAS, AEIdeas, New Things Under the Sun, LSE Impact Blog
9. The Hidden Costs of Securing Innovation: The Manifold Impacts of Compulsory Invention Secrecy
Management Science, 69(4), 2318-2338. 2023.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: NBER Digest (Jul 2019), HBS Working Knowledge, VoxEU, New Things Under the Sun
Data on World War II secrecy orders available here
8. Crisis Innovation Policy from World War II to COVID-19
(with Bhaven Sampat)
NBER Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy, 135-181. 2022.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: The Atlantic, NPR, Fuqua Insights, ResOrg
7. The Economics of Crisis Innovation Policy: A Historical Perspective
(with Bhaven Sampat)
AEA Papers & Proceedings, 111, 346-350. 2021.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: AEIdeas
Automation and Technology Diffusion
6. Answering the Call of Automation: How the Labor Market Adjusted to the Mechanization of Telephone Operation
(with James Feigenbaum)
Conditionally accepted at The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: Tech Republic, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, AEIdeas, Cato Research Brief, Broadstreet, Vox, NPR's Planet Money, Freakonomics podcast
(with James Feigenbaum) **Strategy Science conference Best Paper award
Accepted at Management Science
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: 80,000 Hours
4. Collusive Investments in Technological Compatibility: Lessons from U.S. Railroads in the Late 19th Century
Management Science, 66(12), 5683-5700. 2020.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: Cato Research Brief
3. Scale versus Scope in the Diffusion of New Technology: Evidence from the Farm Tractor
RAND Journal of Economics, 49(2), 427-452. 2018.
Abstract (click to expand)
Managing Creative Workers
2. Creativity Under Fire: The Effects of Competition on Creative Production
The Review of Economics and Statistics, 102(3), 583-599. 2020.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: New York Times, Harvard Business Review (Vol. 98, Issue 3, pp. 24-26), Harvard Business Review France, Inc.com, LiveMint, FinWeek, Freelancer, VoxEU, HBS Working Knowledge, Freakonomics podcast
1. Performance Feedback in Competitive Product Development
RAND Journal of Economics, 48(2), 438-466. 2017.
Abstract (click to expand)
Working papers
12. Coordinated R&D Programs and the Creation of New Industries
(with Maria Roche)
revise & resubmit at Strategic Management Journal
Abstract (click to expand)
13. The Composition and Dynamics of Technology-enabled Entrepreneurship
(with Jorge Guzman and Innessa Colaiacovo)
revise & resubmit at Strategic Management Journal
Abstract (click to expand)
14. The Government Patent Register: A New Lens on Historical U.S. Government-Funded Patenting
(with Bhaven Sampat)
Abstract (click to expand)
Projects in progress
15. World War II and The Transformation of Medical Science, Technology, and Practice in the mid-20th Century
(with Bhaven Sampat)
Abstract (click to expand)
16. The Incidence and Effects of Foreign IP Theft on U.S. Firms and Industries drafting
(with Britta Glennon and Lia Sheer)
Other papers
Good Reverberations? Teacher Influence in Music Composition since 1450
by Karol Jan Borowiecki
Journal of Political Economy, 130(4), 2022.
Over the years 2015-2018, I co-developed this paper from its conception to data collection and measurement of composer similarity, early analysis, framing, and initial drafting, before removing myself from the project to focus on my crisis innovation agenda. The abstract, much of the introduction, and nearly all of the tables and figures in the body of the paper were prepared during this time, after which Karol shepherded the paper through submission, revisions, and the accompanying uncertainty of the R&R process. It's a project I'm fond of (especially given a personal interest in and experience playing the Western classical canon!), and am happy to see well-published.