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Robert Atkinson  

Innovation Economist, ITIF President, Technology Policy Advisor

Dr. Robert D. Atkinson is a prominent scholar in innovation economics and has contributed extensively through his research on technology and innovation. He heads the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), which is recognized as the world's top think tank for science and technology policy. Atkinson has authored several influential books including "Big is Beautiful: Debunking the Mythology of Small Business" (MIT Press, 2018), "Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage" (Yale, 2012), and "The Past And Future Of America's Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth" (Edward Elgar, 2005).

As a recognized figure in the field of technology policy, Atkinson has testified over thirty times before the United States Congress. His expert opinions are highly valued by state, national, and international policymakers on a broad range of topics, including tax policy, advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness. His role extends beyond ITIF; he has served on numerous advisory boards, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's China-U.S. Innovation Policy Experts Group and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Before establishing ITIF, Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of PPI’s Technology & New Economy Project. He has held academic positions as a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a fellow at both the Columbia University Institute of Tele-Information and Glocom, a Tokyo-based research institute. Atkinson earned his Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He continues to shape discussions on the impact and future of digital innovation, focusing on how nations and businesses can leverage digital automation for economic and social progress.

Speech Topics

Winning the Long Economic War With China

Unlike other nations, China is not seeking to comparative advantage being good at some industries and importing others. It is seeking absolute advantage in all advanced industries and it is willing to do whatever it takes to win. What does this mean for the future of the global economy and the United States, including U.S. firms in a wide array of industries. Equally important what does the U.S. government need to do to win this war, and what are the barriers that are getting in the way.

Productivity is Everything

Rich economies became rich by being more productive. However, in the last 15 years labor productivity growth has declined to all-time lows, making it harder to raise incomes, grow companies, and expand the economy. What accounts for this productivity slowdown? Will emerging technologies like autonomous systems, AI, 5G, IOT and other technologies make enough of a difference? What should industry do? What should the federal government do, and what exactly would a national productivity strategy look like?

Time for a Real U.S. Industrial Policy

For almost half a century the term "industrial policy" has been a derogatory one, suggesting the government intervening where it shouldn't. But the rise of advanced industries in China, threatening both U.S. military and economic security, has brought the term back to some level of respectability in Washington, in part reflected by the recent passage by Congress of the Chips and Science Act. Why is industrial policy getting more attention, and what are the politics of it in DC? How do Democrats and Republicans look at it differently? How can industry help shape industrial policy. And what kind of industrial policy does the nation need?

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