John Van Reenen

Department of Economics and MIT Sloan School of Management

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

@johnvanreenen Website

Professor Van Reenen has published widely on the economics of innovation, labor markets, and productivity. He has been a senior policy adviser to the Secretary of State for Health, Downing Street, and for many international organizations. In 2016, he received the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for services to Economics and Public Policy Making.

Vote History

Statement Vote Confidence Comments
In the next five years, the blockchain will have a transformative effect on finance in emerging markets. Neither Agree nor Disagree 1
In the absence of a carbon tax, industry self-regulation can help mitigate the worst fallout from climate change. Strongly Disagree 9 “Industry does not have the incentives to deal with climate change externalities. We urgently need a carbon tax. But complementing this with R&D subsidies and government regulation also helps.”
Amazon’s new $15 per hour minimum wage will force other companies to follow suit. Disagree 6
Restrictions on skilled immigration will cause US firms to to shift more operations overseas. Agree 6 “Restrictions will certainly hurt U.S. firms in terms of their productivity and innovation (which will therefore harm American wages). The shifting operations effect is less important than this.”
Uber has to develop self-driving cars in the next 10 years in order to remain viable. Disagree 6
A trade war will be more disruptive to business than to consumers. Agree 6 “A trade war is disastrous for both business and consumers. Trade barriers stunt productivity, good management, innovation, and wages. See Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on innovation, IT and Productivity (2016).”
Concern over consumer privacy will fundamentally limit businesses’ ability to use big data. Agree 6