Does Ride-sharing Discriminate?
Xavier Lambin and Emil Palikot
New research on the economic effects of prejudice against ethnic minority drivers, and ways to mitigate that prejudice.
Category: Research
Shocking Technology: What Happens When Firms Make Large IT Investments?
James Bessen and Cesare Righi
New research on the effects of large IT investments on employment and productivity.
Toward Understanding the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Labor
Morgan R. Frank, David Autor, James E. Bessen, Erik Brynjolfsson, et al.
New research analyzing the barriers that inhibit accurately measuring the effects of AI and automation on the future of work and developing a decision framework that focuses on resilience to unexpected scenarios.
Shocks and Technology Adoption: Evidence from Electronic Payment Systems
Nicolas Crouzet, Apoorv Gupta, and Filippo Mezzanotti
A new study suggests that the Indian demonetization in 2016 spurred more rapid adoption of electronic payment systems.
Automatic Reaction – What Happens to Workers at Firms that Automate?
James Bessen, Maarten Goos, Anna Salomons, and Wiljan van den Berge
New research on the effects of automation on jobs and wages finds minor impacts compared to mass layoffs, and with greatest impact on higher-paid workers.
Diffusing New Technology Without Dissipating Rents
James Bessen and Alessandro Nuvolari
A paper analyzing the diffusion of three technologies in the 19th century with policy implications for today.
Roadblock to Innovation: The Role of Patent Litigation in Corporate R&D
Filippo Mezzanotti
A new study on the impact of a patent-policy change on corporate R&D spending and innovation.
The Business of Artificial Intelligence Startups
James Bessen, Stephen Michael Impink, Lydia Reichensperger, and Robert Seamans
A new survey of AI startups offers insight into AI’s impact on jobs and the economy, including data suggesting a competitive market for startups and the use of AI to enhance rather than replace human labor.
The Policy Challenge of Artificial Intelligence
James Bessen
Across all major sectors of the economy, proprietary information technology is increasing the market dominance of large firms, which is evidence of a slowdown in the spread of technical knowledge throughout the economy. The result is rising industry concentration, slower productivity growth and growing wage inequality. The key challenge to IP and antitrust policy will be counter this trend yet maintain innovation incentives.
Is Automation Labor-Displacing? Productivity Growth, Employment, and the Labor Share
David Autor and Anna Salomons
While many technological innovations replace workers with machines, what effect does that have on overall employment and productivity? This paper explores automation’s impact on total employment and aggregate demand.