Diego Comin of Harvard University to be Awarded a Grant from the Institute for New Economic Thinking
An INET grant will fund Professor Comin to study the drivers and consequences of technology adoption.
New York, NY, November 17, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), launched with a $50 million pledge from George Soros to promote changes in economic theory and practice through research grants, Task Force groups, academic partnerships, and conferences, announced that it has selected Diego Comin of Harvard University to study the drivers of technology adoption as well as the consequences of the dynamics of technology adoption for economic growth. The grant program, along with other INET initiatives, was created in direct response to arguably the worst economic crisis in world history, and has been designed to encourage and support new economic thinking. Starting in 2011, INET will conduct two grant cycles annually.
The project will utilize new data sets containing information about the diffusion of over 100 specific technologies in over 150 countries over the last 200 years, and will test existing theories of technology diffusion and growth. Professor Comin plans to use the INET grant to develop new theories to account for the role of geography and the presence of large technology adoption costs.
“The issues connecting technology adoption to economic inequality are numerous and complex,” commented Dr. Robert Johnson, Executive Director of INET. “This project clearly illustrates INET’s firm belief that economics must serve a larger social purpose. Any insights our research provides that may result in raising living standards in the developing world will provide a vital and gratifying return on investment.”
Diego Comin is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School since 2007. He received his B.A. in Economics in 1995 from the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain and his PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, Comin has been Assistant Professor of Economics at New York University. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research and a Faculty Research Fellow in the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Economic Fluctuations and Growth Program.
“Understanding the drivers of technology adoption and growth is necessary to effectively formulate policies that lift the living standards of citizens in poor countries,” said Diego Comin, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University. “INET's support will allow me to use new data and strategies to shed some light on these questions.”
INET’s Inaugural Grant Program has been designed to harness the new economic thinking we recognize as crucial to effecting change. The program was launched this summer and received more than 500 applications from around the world and has selected 31 initiatives to be awarded grants totaling $7 million. INET's Grant Program will continue with two similar grant cycles annually, the next one commencing in the spring of 2011.
For further details regarding INET’s Grant Program or additional projects and people to be awarded grants please visit the Institute’s website.
About the Institute for New Economic Thinking:
Launched in October 2009 with a $50 million commitment from George Soros and driven by the global financial crisis, the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) is dedicated to empowering and supporting the next generation of economists and scholars in related fields through research grants, Task Force groups, academic partnerships, and conferences. INET embraces the professional responsibility to think beyond current paradigms. Ultimately, INET is committed to broadening and accelerating the development of innovative thinking that can lead to insights into and solutions for the great challenges of the 21st century and return economics to its core mission of guiding and protecting society. For more information please visit http://www.ineteconomics.org/
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The project will utilize new data sets containing information about the diffusion of over 100 specific technologies in over 150 countries over the last 200 years, and will test existing theories of technology diffusion and growth. Professor Comin plans to use the INET grant to develop new theories to account for the role of geography and the presence of large technology adoption costs.
“The issues connecting technology adoption to economic inequality are numerous and complex,” commented Dr. Robert Johnson, Executive Director of INET. “This project clearly illustrates INET’s firm belief that economics must serve a larger social purpose. Any insights our research provides that may result in raising living standards in the developing world will provide a vital and gratifying return on investment.”
Diego Comin is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School since 2007. He received his B.A. in Economics in 1995 from the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain and his PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, Comin has been Assistant Professor of Economics at New York University. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research and a Faculty Research Fellow in the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Economic Fluctuations and Growth Program.
“Understanding the drivers of technology adoption and growth is necessary to effectively formulate policies that lift the living standards of citizens in poor countries,” said Diego Comin, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University. “INET's support will allow me to use new data and strategies to shed some light on these questions.”
INET’s Inaugural Grant Program has been designed to harness the new economic thinking we recognize as crucial to effecting change. The program was launched this summer and received more than 500 applications from around the world and has selected 31 initiatives to be awarded grants totaling $7 million. INET's Grant Program will continue with two similar grant cycles annually, the next one commencing in the spring of 2011.
For further details regarding INET’s Grant Program or additional projects and people to be awarded grants please visit the Institute’s website.
About the Institute for New Economic Thinking:
Launched in October 2009 with a $50 million commitment from George Soros and driven by the global financial crisis, the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) is dedicated to empowering and supporting the next generation of economists and scholars in related fields through research grants, Task Force groups, academic partnerships, and conferences. INET embraces the professional responsibility to think beyond current paradigms. Ultimately, INET is committed to broadening and accelerating the development of innovative thinking that can lead to insights into and solutions for the great challenges of the 21st century and return economics to its core mission of guiding and protecting society. For more information please visit http://www.ineteconomics.org/
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Bill Fallon
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ineteconomics.org
Bill Fallon
212 925 6900
ineteconomics.org
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