Degrees: PHD, 1994, Stanford Univ; MA, 1990, Univ Sussex

Bio:

Specialization: Industrial Organization, Economics of Institutions and Contracts, Economics of Technical Change.

Roberto Mazzoleni is a Professor of Economics, and serves currently as Department Chair.

He has taught previously at George Mason University (Institute of Public Policy), the University of Vermont, and Columbia University (School of International and Public Affairs).  Mazzoleni received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University in 1994, a M.A. in Economics from the University of Sussex (U.K.) in 1990, and a Laurea in Political Science from the Università di Sassari (Italy) in 1988.  In 1994 he was awarded the John M. Olin Fellowship for Law and Economics from the Center for Law and Economic Studies at Columbia Law School. Previously, he was the recipient of scholarships from the Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, and the Ente “Luigi Einaudi” of the Bank of Italy.  He has been a consultant for the World Bank in 2008 and a Senior Science and Technology Expert for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in 2005.

He teaches a variety of introductory and intermediate level courses, including: Principles of Economics II, Intermediate Microeconomics, Government and Business, Industrial Economics, Economics of Innovation, Law and Economics, Economic Perspectives on Games and Social Interactions, and Economics of Organization and the Firm. 

His current research projects focus on the evolution of institutions supporting biomedical innovation, the effect of a changing intellectual property rights’ regime on the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry, and the history of behavioral, institutional, and evolutionary approaches to microeconomics.

In earlier work, he has focused on innovation in the machine tool industry, the economic analysis of patents, theoretical and empirical studies of university patenting, the role of public research institutions in economic development, and the history of iron and steel production in Brazil.  He is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters, as well of several entries in the Encyclopedia of Capitalism (Facts on File, 2004). 

Roberto Mazzoleni’s profile on Google Scholar

Selected publications

“Before Bayh-Dole: Public Research Funding, Patents, and Pharmaceutical Innovation (1945-1965),” Industrial and Corporate Change, 20(3), 2011, pp.721-749.

“Patents and University-Industry Interactions in Pharmaceutical Research Before 1962: An Investigation of the Historical Justifications for Bayh-Dole,” Journal of High Technology Law, 10(2), 2010, pp.168-207.

“Accumulation of technological capabilities and economic development: Did Brazil’s Regime of Intellectual Property Rights Matter?,” (with Luciano Costa Povoa) in Hiroyuki Odagiri, Akira Goto, Atsushi Sunami and Richard R. Nelson (Eds.), Intellectual Property Rights, Development, and Catch Up, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

“The Roles of Research at Universities and Public Labs in Economic Catch-up,” (with Richard R. Nelson) in Mario Cimoli, Giovanni Dosi, and Joseph E. Stiglitz (Eds.), Industrial Policy and Development: The Political Economy of Capabilities Accumulation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

“Catching Up and Academic Institutions: A Comparative Study of Past National Experiences,” Journal of Development Studies, 44(5), 2008, pp.678-700.

“Public Research Institutions and Economic Catch-Up,” (with Richard R. Nelson), Research Policy, 36(10), 2007, pp.1512-1528.

“The Effects of University Patenting and Licensing on Downstream R&D Investment and Social Welfare,” Journal of Technology Transfer, 31, 2006, pp.431-441.

“University Patents, R&D Competition, and Social Welfare,” Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 14(6), 2005, pp. 499-515.

“Public Enterprise, Slave Labor, and Technological Learning in the 19th Century Brazilian Iron Industry,” Essays in Economic & Business History, 22, 2004.

“University Patenting: An Assessment of the Causes and Consequences of Recent Changes in Strategies and Practices,” (with Bhaven Sampat) Revue d’Economie Industrielle, 99(2), 2002, pp.233-248.

“The Role of Sales Agents in the Diffusion of U.S. Machine Tool Technology in Europe,” Essays in Economic & Business History, 20, 2002, pp.21-38.

“The Organization of U.S. Machine Tool Distribution in Europe (1890-1916),” Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(1), 2002, pp.53-84.

“How Do University Inventions Get Into Practice?” (with A.Colyvas, M.Crow, A.Geljins, R. Nelson, N.Rosenberg, and B. Sampat), Management Science, 48(1), January 2002, pp.61-72.

“Economic Theories of the Benefits and Costs of Patents,” (with Richard R. Nelson).  Journal of Economic Issues, 32 (4), December 1998, pp.1031-1052.

“The Benefits and Costs of Strong Patent Protection: A Contribution to the Current Debate,” (with Richard R. Nelson).  Research Policy, 27 (3), July 1998, pp.273-284.

“Learning and Path-Dependence in the Diffusion of Innovations: Comparative Evidence on Numerically Controlled Machine Tools,” Research Policy, 26 (4-5), December 1997, pp.405-428.