MPI Fellow Dr. Michael Mandel
Dr. Michael Mandel is chief economic strategist at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. and senior fellow at the Mack Institute of Innovation Management at the Wharton School (UPenn). He was chief economist at BusinessWeek prior to its purchase by Bloomberg in 2009.
With experience spanning policy, academics, and business, Dr. Mandel has helped lead the public conversation about the economic and business impact of technology for the past two decades. Mandel is the author of four books, including The High Risk Society and Rational Exuberance: Silencing the Enemies of Growth and Why the Future Is Better Than You Think. His essentials-level economics textbook from McGraw-Hill, Economics:The Basics, is going into its fourth edition. Mandel received a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and taught at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
In recent years Mandel has focused much of his research and policy work on digitization of manufacturing and other physical industries. His research shows that digitization in the physical sector has dramatically lagged, hurting productivity, job growth, and entrepreneurship. As a result, policy directed toward encouraging digitization of the factory floor and increasing use of manufacturing platforms can boost manufacturing output and jobs in the United States, and help traditional industrial regions.
His recent research reports, policy briefs, and essays include:
- “The Coming Productivity Boom: Transforming the Physical Economy with Information,” (March 2017) (with Bret Swanson)
- “The Next Ten Million Jobs: Energizing the Physical Industries in the Heartland States” (October 2017)
- “The Internet of Goods and a Revitalized Economy: Upstate New York as a Template” (January 2018) (with Elliott Long)
- “The Rise of the Internet of Goods: A New Perspective on the Digital Future for Manufacturers” (August 2018)
- “Competition and Concentration: How the Tech/Telecom/ Ecommerce Sector is Outperforming the Rest of the Private Sector” (November 2018)
- “New Ideas for a Do-Something Congress No. 2: Jumpstart a New Generation of Manufacturing Entrepreneurs” (January 2019)
- “Why 2019 Will Be The Year Of The Manufacturing Platform” (January 2019)
“Digital Manufacturing Has A China Dilemma” (March 2019) - “Building the New Manufacturing Stack” (August 2019)
In addition to his work on digital manufacturing, Mandel regularly engages with policymakers in Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific on key issues such as privacy, tax policy, fiscal policy, regulation, and competition policy. His analysis of App Economy jobs covers the United States, the European Union, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Vietnam, and Australia.
Mandel’s seminal analysis showing how ecommerce creates jobs and reduces inequality was featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Financial Times, among others. His most recent Wall Street Journal op-eds were entitled “Robots Will Save the Economy” and “Get Ready for the Internet of Goods.”
