Speaker

Robert ATKINSON

President - Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

Dr. Robert D. Atkinson is one of the country’s foremost thinkers on innovation economics. With an extensive background in technology policy, he has conducted ground-breaking research projects on technology and innovation, is a valued adviser to state and national policy makers, and a popular speaker on innovation policy nationally and internationally.

Before founding ITIF, Atkinson was Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute and Director of PPI’s Technology & New Economy Project. He received his Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2014. He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.

A sought-after speaker and valued adviser to policymakers around the world, Atkinson’s books include Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage (Yale, 2012), Supply-Side Follies: Why Conservative Economics Fails, Liberal Economics Falters, and Innovation Economics is the Answer (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), and The Past And Future Of America’s Economy: Long Waves Of Innovation That Power Cycles Of Growth (Edward Elgar, 2005). He also has conducted groundbreaking research projects and authored hundreds of articles and reports on technology and innovation-related topics ranging from tax policy to advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness.

President Clinton appointed Atkinson to the Commission on Workers, Communities, and Economic Change in the New Economy; the Bush administration appointed him chair of the congressionally created National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission; and the Obama administration appointed him to the National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Advisory Board. He also served as co-chair of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s China-U.S. Innovation Policy Experts Group. He is currently a member of the U.S. State Department’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Research Areas:  Competitiveness • Economic Theory • Manufacturing • Productivity • R&D and Innovation • Taxes, Budget, and Regulation • E-Government • Transportation • Energy and Climate

Website: https://itif.org/

Twitter Account: @RobAtkinsonITIF