About

Objective

The Technology & Policy Research Initiative (TPRI) supports independent inter-disciplinary research on the causes and consequences of technological change. TPRI also works with leaders from the business and policy communities to translate research results into fact-based innovation policies that promote equitable and sustainable long-term growth. Our Fellows come from Boston University, affiliates at Utrecht University, and the wider academic community in the US, Europe and Asia. TPRI is a joint initiative with faculty leadership from the Boston University School of Law and Boston University Questrom School of Business.

Research Agenda

Our research is grouped into three wide-ranging areas:

1. Innovation. What policy incentives encourage technological innovation, broad sharing of new knowledge, and widespread adoption of new technologies? What policies, instead, undermine new knowledge generation, innovation incentives and the widespread adoption of new technologies?
2. Workplace. Technology is transforming the workforce, but how? How will new technology be adopted, by which workers and which firms, and how will the benefits of technology be shared? Is information technology creating persistent unemployment, as some claim, or does it, instead, create a “skills gap,” as others argue? What will be the impact of artificial intelligence technologies and robotics?
3. Dynamism.  Competition from new firms and technologies plays an important role in spreading the benefits of innovation. How do technology and public policy influence shape firms’ ability to enter and compete in new markets or create new jobs and occupations? What is the political economy of technological investments and outcomes?

Contact

771 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Email: tpri@bu.edu