Mark Schankerman
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics Research Fellow, Center for Economic Policy Research Research
Associate, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics
Colleges / Universities: London School of Economics and Political Science
Contact
Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
Email: m.schankerman@lse.ac.uk
Website: Faculty Profile
Mark Schankerman is Professor in Economics at the London School of Economics, Research Associate at the Centre for Economics Performance (LSE) and a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London. He received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University, formerly taught at New York University, and was a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research for ten years. From 1995-2003 he served as Director of Policy Research and Advisor to the Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He also worked at the World Bank and has extensive consultancy experience in the private and public sectors. He has contributed extensively to the literature on patents, R&D, productivity and the economics of emerging economies.
He is currently an editor of the Economics of Transition, Associate Editor of the Rand Journal of Economics, and on the editorial board of the Journal of Industrial Economics. He is a member of the Expert Panel advising the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, commissioned by the UK Government.
Degrees
Ph.D. Economics Harvard University
M.A. Economics Harvard University
B.A. Economics Brandeis University, Magna cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Recent Academic Article Summaries
We study how the market for innovation affects enforcement of patent rights.
Taxes strongly affect transactions of individually owned patents and reallocation of patent rights reduces litigation risk, on average.
The Comingled Code: Open Source and Economic Development
Software plays a key role in economic growth. Some governments promote open source software to spur growth. Developers and users “mix and match” open source and proprietary software. Which type is “better” depends on the circumstances.
Governments should be neutral, neither favoring nor disfavoring open source. Government policy should favor competition.
Patent Thickets, Courts, and the Market for Innovation
This paper considers the extent to which different features of patent thickets can impede or encourage innovation.
Reducing the duration of patent lawsuits may be expected to increase innovation and the diffusion of technology.
Comments on “Critical episodes in the progress of medical innovation” and “A policy-shaped research agenda on the economics of science and technology”
This review discusses the content and implications of papers on the economics of innovation and research policy.
Revising research program evaluation methods may allow policymakers to more efficiently allocate public funds for basic and applied science.
Motivation and Sorting in Open Source Software Innovation
This paper explores the motivations of programmers who contribute to open source software.
With sufficient incentives, significant innovation can be induced without monetary compensation.
Blog Posts
Quotes in the News
Schankerman, M. (2018, January 12). CNBC.“If they can screen out bad patents, the application becomes more attractive to potential licensees. The value of his system is how much noise there is. I know there's lots of bad patents out there.”
Mark Schankerman
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics Research Fellow, Center for Economic Policy Research Research
Associate, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics
London School of Economics and Political Science
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