Research
Publications
Crisis Innovation and National Competitiveness
For a summary of my work on this theme, please see this NBER Reporter article.
12. The Government Patent Register: A New Resource for Measuring U.S. Government-Funded Patenting
(with Bhaven Sampat)
conditionally accepted at Research Policy
Abstract (click to expand)
Data on U.S. gov't funded patents available here
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: New York Times, Axios, Brookings Institution (1, 2), American Enterprise Institute, Mises Institute, AEA Research Highlights , NBER Digest
Cited in the 2023 Economic Report of the President
Sidebar in the 2024 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, American Enterprise Institute, New Things Under the Sun, LSE Impact Blog
Cited in the 2024 Economic Report of the President
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, 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)
Automation and Technology Diffusion
6. Answering the Call of Automation: How the Labor Market Adjusted to the Mechanization of Telephone Operation
(with James Feigenbaum)
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 139(3), 1879-1939. 2024.
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: Vox, NPR Marketplace, NPR Planet Money podcast, Freakonomics podcast, Tech Republic, American Enterprise Institute (1, 2, 3, 4), Cato Institute, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, UN International Labour Organization, Broadstreet
(with James Feigenbaum) **Strategy Science conference Best Paper award
Forthcoming at Management Science
Abstract (click to expand)
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 Institute
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)
Media: The Economist, American Enterprise Institute (1, 2)
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
13. Coordinated R&D Programs and the Creation of New Industries
(with Maria Roche)
revise & resubmit at Strategic Management Journal
Abstract (click to expand)
14. The Composition and Dynamics of Technology-enabled Entrepreneurship
(with Jorge Guzman and Innessa Colaiacovo)
revise & resubmit at Strategic Management Journal
new draft coming soon
Abstract (click to expand)
Media: Entrepreneur Magazine
15. The Systemic Effects of Mission-Oriented Research: World War II and the Mid-Century Expansion of Biomedicine
(with Bhaven Sampat)
Abstract (click to expand)
Draft available on request
16. Who Pays for Scientific Training in the United States?
(with Dror Shvadron and Hansen Zhang)
Abstract (click to expand)
Draft not yet circulating
Projects in progress
Economic Espionage in the 21st century
(with Britta Glennon and Lia Sheer)
Additional projects underway on:
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The estimation of public-private R&D spillovers over long horizons
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The impacts of large, systemic declines in public R&D investment
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Windfalls to technical knowledge stocks in high-tech industries
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Organizational complexity as a source of technology lock-in
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Automation and the decline of organized labor in America
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Unions, division of rents, and reskilling in an age of automation