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Ajay Agrawal

Photo of Professor Ajay Agrawal

Ajay Agrawal

Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Professor of Strategic Management

Degrees:

PhD in Strategy & Business Economics, University of British Columbia
Visiting Scholar, PhD dissertation research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
M.Eng./MBA, University of British Columbia,
MBA program Visiting Scholar, London Business School
BSc, University of British Columbia

Personal Website:

Bio

Ajay Agrawal is the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management where he conducts research on the economics of artificial intelligence, science policy, entrepreneurial finance, and geography of innovation. Professor Agrawal is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, MA, co-founder of The Next 36 and NextAI, and founder of the Creative Destruction Lab.

Academic Positions

  • 2014-present

    Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

  • 2008-2014

    Associate Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

  • 2003-2008

    Assistant Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

  • 2001-2003

    Assistant Professor, Queen's School of Business, Queen's University

  • 2008-present

    Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research

  • 1998

    Lecturer, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

Non-Academic Positions

  • 2012-present

    Founder and Academic Director , Creative Destruction Lab at Rotman School of Management

  • 2010-present

    Cofounder and Academic Director , NEXT Canada (including The Next 36 and NEXT AI)

Selected Publications - Papers

  • How stars matter: Recruiting and peer effects in evolutionary biology

    with J. McHale, A. Oettl

    Research Policy

    2017

  • What to Expect From Artificial Intelligence

    with J. Gans, A. Goldfarb

    MIT Sloan Management Review

    2017

  • Are Syndicates the Killer App of Equity Crowdfunding?

    with A. Goldfarb, C. Catalini

    California Management Review

    Issue:58(2)

    2016

    Pages: 111-124

  • Diaspora Networks, Knowledge Flows, and Brain Drain

    Intellectual Property, the International Mobility of Knowledge Workers, and the Brain Drain, World Intellectual Property Organization

    2016

  • Does standardized information in online markets disproportionately benefit job applicants from less developed countries?

    N. Lacetera, E. Lyons

    Journal of International Economics

    2016

  • Roads and Innovation

    with A. Galasso, A. Oettl

    Review of Economics and Statistics

    2016

  • The Simple Economics of Machine Intelligence

    with J. Gans, A. Goldfarb

    Harvard Business Review

    2016

  • Understanding the Changing Structure of Scientific Inquiry

    with A. Goldfarb, F. Teodoridis

    American Economic Journal: Applied Economics

    Issue:8(1)

    2016

    Pages: 100-128

  • Collaboration, Stars, and the Changing Organization of Science: Evidence from Evolutionary Biology

    with J. McHale, A. Oettl

    The Changing Frontier: Rethinking Science and Innovation Policy, eds. Adam Jaffe and Ben Jones, University of Chicago Press

    2015

  • Crowdfunding: Geography, Social Networks, and the Timing of Investment Decisions

    with C. Catalini, A. Goldfarb

    Journal of Economics and Management Strategy

    Issue:24(2)

    2015

    Pages: 253-274

  • Deals not Done: Sources of Failure in the Market for Ideas

    with I. Cockburn, L. Zhang

    Strategic Management Journal

    Issue:36(7)

    2015

    Pages: 976-986

  • Some Simple Economics of Crowdfunding

    with C. Catalini, A. Goldfarb

    Innovation Policy and the Economy

    Issue:14

    2014

  • Digitization and the Contract Labor Market: A Research Agenda

    with J. Horton, N. Lacetera, L. Lyons

    Economics of Digitization

    2013

  • Life Sciences Venture Capital in Emerging Markets

    with J. Chakma, S. Sammut

    Nature Biotechnology

    Issue:31(3)

    2013

    Pages: 195-201

  • Why Are Some Regions More Innovative than Others? The Role of Firm Size Diversity

    with Iain Cockburn, Alberto Galasso, and Alex Oettl

    National Bureau of Economic Research

    Issue:Working Paper 17793

    2012

  • Brain Drain or Brain Bank? The Impact of Skilled Emigration on Poor-Country Innovation

    with Devesh Kapur, John McHale, and Alex Oettl

    Journal of Urban Economics

    Issue:69(1)

    2011

    Pages: 43-55

  • Recruiting for Ideas: How Firms Exploit the Prior Inventions of New Hires

    with Jasjit Singh

    Management Science

    Issue:57(1)

    2011

    Pages: 129-150

  • The Geography of Crowd-Funding

    with Christian Catalini and Avi Goldfarb

    National Bureau of Economic Research

    Issue:Working paper 16820

    2011

  • Not Invented Here? Innovation in Company Towns

    with Iain Cockburn and Carlos Rosell

    Journal of Urban Economics

    Issue:67(1)

    2010

    Pages: 78-89

  • Have University Knowledge Flows Narrowed? Evidence from Patent Data

    with Carlos Rosell

    Research Policy

    Issue:38 (1)

    2009

    Pages: 1-13

  • Transaction Costs in Technology Transfer and Implications for Strategy

    Economic Institutions of Strategy, Advances in Strategic Management

    Issue:Vol. 26

    2009

  • How Do Spatial and Social Proximity Influence Knowledge Flows? Evidence from Patent Data

    with Devesh Kapur and John McHale

    Journal of Urban Economics

    Issue:64

    2008

    Pages: 258-269

  • International Labor Mobility and Knowledge Flow Externalities

    with Alex Oettl

    Journal of International Business Studies

    Issue:39 (8)

    2008

    Pages: 1242-1260

  • Restructuring Research: Communication Costs and the Democratization of University Innovation

    with Avi Goldfarb

    American Economic Review

    Issue:98 (4)

    2008

    Pages: 1578-1590

  • Public Sector Science and the Strategy of the Commons

    with Lorenzo Garlappi

    Economics of Innovation and New Technology

    Issue:16 (7)

    2007

    Pages: 517-539

  • Engaging the Inventor: Exploring Licensing Strategies for University Inventions and the Role of Latent Knowledge

    Strategic Management Journal

    Issue:27 (1)

    2006

    Pages: 63-79

  • Gone But Not Forgotten: Labor Flows, Knowledge Spillovers and Enduring Social Capital

    with Iain Cockburn and John McHale

    Journal of Economic Geography

    Issue:6 (5)

    2006

    Pages: 571-591

  • D-Wave Systems: Building a Quantum Computer

    Agrawal, A., R. Henderson, and A. MacCormack

    Harvard Business School Press (case)

    2004

    Pages: N9-604-073

  • Space is Not the Final Frontier: What We Know About Innovation and the Growth of Cities

    Agrawal, A.

    Journal of Economic Geography, book review of 'Innovation and the Growth of Cities' by Zoltan Acs

    2003

  • The Anchor Tenant Hypothesis: Examining the Role of Large, Local, R&D-Intensive Firms in University Knowledge Transfer

    with Iain Cockburn

    International Journal of Industrial Organization

    Issue:21

    2003

    Pages: 1227-1253

  • Innovation, Growth Theory, and the Role of Knowledge Spillovers, Statistics Canada

    Agrawal, A.

    The Innovation Analysis Bulletin

    Issue:Vol. 4, No. 3, Ottawa, Canada

    2002

  • Public Sector Science and the Strategy of the Commons (Abridged)

    Agrawal, A. and L. Garlappi

    Best Paper Proceedings, Academy of Management

    2002

  • Putting Patents in Context: Exploring Knowledge Transfer from MIT

    Agrawal, A. and R. Henderson

    Management Science

    Issue:Vol. 48, No. 1, January

    2002

    Pages: pp. 44-60

  • Research on University-to-Industry Knowledge Transfer: Framework of Existing Literature and Unanswered Questions

    Agrawal, A.

    International Journal of Management Reviews

    Issue:Vol. 3, No. 4

    2001

    Pages: pp. 285-302

Research and Teaching Interests

Professor Agrawal currently teaches the Creative Destruction Lab MBA course and previously has taught "Competition and Strategy in Creative Industries" and "Corporate Strategy" in the MBA program and "Economics of Innovation" in the PhD program at the Rotman School of Management. He also taught "Technology Strategy" (MBA), "Business Strategy" (undergraduate), and "Economics of Innovation" (PhD) at Queen's University. Professor Agrawal's research explores the economics of artificial intelligence, science policy, entrepreneurial finance, and the geography of innovation.

Honors and Awards

  • 2017

    Distinguished Scholarly Contribution Award, Rotman School of Management

  • 2013-2018

    Principal Investigator Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

  • 2013

    Professor of the Year (Awarded by MBA Class of 2013), Rotman School of Management

  • 2012

    Professor of the Year (Awarded by MBA Class of 2012), Rotman School of Management

  • 2011

    'Professor of the Year' and 'Most Challenging Professor' (Awarded by MBA Class of 2011), Rotman School of Management

  • 2010

    Martin-Lang Award for Excellence in Teaching, Rotman School of Management

  • 2009

    Principal Investigator (2009-2012), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Award

  • 2005

    Connaught Research Grant Award (2005-2007), University of Toronto

  • 2005

    Research Grant (2005-2010), Senior Investigator , National Science Foundation

  • 2004

    Research Award, three-year grant, single author applicant (2004-2007), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

  • 2003

    Nominated for Polanyi Prize in Economics,

  • 2003

    Nominated for 2003 Teaching Excellence Award, Queen’s University Commerce Society

  • 2002

    New Researcher Award, Queen’s University, School of Business

  • 2002

    Research Award (INE), three-year grant, single author applicant (2002-2005), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

  • 2002

    D.I. McLeod Research Fellowship,

  • 2002

    Best Paper, Academy of Management, BPS Division

  • 2002

    Top Nominee, 2002 Teaching Excellence Award, Queen’s University Commerce Society

  • 2001

    Short-listed for Young Economist Essay Prize, European Association for Research in Industrial Economics (EARIE)

  • 2001

    Best Student Paper Award 2001, Portland International Conference for Management in Engineering and Technology (PICMET)

  • 2000

    Best Dissertation Award Runner-up, jointly awarded by INFORMS and the Academy of Management, Technology and Innovation Management Division

  • 2000

    Nominated for the Carolyn Dexter Best International Paper Award,

  • 1999

    Entrepreneurship Research Fellowship, University of British Columbia

  • 1998

    Entrepreneurship Research Fellowship, University of British Columbia

  • 1995

    International Business Scholarship, University of British Columbia