SI 2026 Innovation
Organized by Benjamin Jones and Heidi L. Williams
Supported by Coefficient Giving and Good Ventures Foundation
July 21-22, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, July 21
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00 am
Welcome and Introductions
9:15 am

Patent Vouchers as Innovation Incentives: Theory and Evidence from Europe

Pierre Dubois, Toulouse School of Economics
Paul-Henri Moisson, Paris School of Economics
Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics

Discussant:
TBA
10:20 am

Tasks to TFP: The Micro Origins of Aggregate Productivity

Joseba Martinez, London Business School
Johan Moen-Vorum, BI Norwegian Business School

Discussant:
TBA
11:10 am
Break
11:30 am

The Decline in the Transmission of Scientific Ideas

Enrico Berkes, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Ruben Gaetani, University of Toronto

Discussant:
TBA
12:20 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm

Dynamic Oligopoly and Innovation

Hugo Hopenhayn, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER
Koki Okumura, University of California, Los Angeles

Discussant:
TBA
2:20 pm

The Economic Value of Science

Xugan Chen, Yale University
Ernest Liu, Princeton University and NBER
Song Ma, Yale University and NBER

Discussant:
TBA
3:10 pm
Break
3:30 pm
Panel: Regulation, Innovation, and Economic Growth
Moderator
Heidi Williams, Darmouth College and NBER
Panelists:
Edward Glaeser, Harvard University and NBER
Zach Liscow, Yale University
Lisa Ouellette, Stanford University
Mike Schmidt, Princeton University
5:00 pm
Adjourn and Reception in Ballroom Foyer
Wednesday, July 22
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:30 am

Innovation through Recombination

Songyuan Teng, Yale University

Discussant:
TBA
10:20 am
Break
10:40 am

How Artificial Intelligence Shapes Science: Evidence from AlphaFold

Ryan R. Hill, Northwestern University and NBER
Carolyn Stein, University of California, Berkeley and NBER

Discussant:
TBA
11:30 am

How AI Impacts the Quest for Knowledge: Evidence from AlphaFold2

Myra Mohnen, University of Ottawa
Joshua S. Gans, University of Toronto and NBER

Discussant:
TBA
12:20 pm
Lunch

Afternoon Joint Session with the Digital Economics and Artificial Intelligence
1:30 pm

Growth at the Resource Frontier

Martin Beraja, University of California, Berkeley and NBER
Noam Yuchtman, London School of Economics

Discussant:
TBA
2:20 pm

Platform Governance and Automated Enforcement: Evidence from YouTube Content ID

Sverrir Arnórsson, University of Zurich
Stefan Bechtold, ETH Zurich
Christian Peukert, HEC Lausanne
Catherine Tucker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER

Discussant:
TBA
3:30 pm

Elite Talent and Firm Productivity in the Age of AI

Sagar V. Baviskar, Carnegie Mellon University
Lee G. Branstetter, Carnegie Mellon University and NBER
Prasanna Tambe, University of Pennsylvania
Liujie Wu, Carnegie Mellon University
Cameron Drayton, Carnegie Mellon University
Eduard Hovy, Carnegie Mellon University

Discussant:
TBA
4:20 pm
Adjourn