Understanding the Effects of Technology on Economics and Governance

Understanding the Effects of Technology on Economics and Governance

Hoovers scholars address how America can grapple with risks and exploit strategic advantages presented by technology. Issues being studied include competing technologically with China; protecting American citizens and companies in cyberspace; and protecting freedom of speech while mitigating the spread of false information.

We sit in the Silicon Valley surrounded by technology and innovation. What I find here is that people tend to take for granted that technology is good. In fact, technology is neutral. However, it can be applied for good or evil, in the manner in which it affects institutions and people's lives. Human beings have been historically a lot better at the knowledge part than the wisdom part. The same splitting of the atom that allowed us to turn on the lights of civil nuclear power or administer medical isotopes, also gave us the atom bomb.

Condoleezza Rice

What our Fellows are saying

Amy Zegart

Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow

David Brady

Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus

John B. Taylor

George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics

“Google is a platform by which adversaries do all sorts of bad things. So, you can't opt out of geopolitics if you're a company, and that's especially true for tech platforms. They don't, and I often joke that government agencies want technological capabilities from the Valley that they don't have. And Silicon Valley companies have responsibilities that they don't want. And so, each side is grappling with these really difficult challenges about how to be responsible for national security.”

—Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow Amy Zegart on Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson, March 31, 2022

“Bipartisan initiatives to regulate Big Tech continue to gain traction in Congress amidst allegations that these firms have stifled competition and mismanaged private data.... a majority of Democrats and pluralities of Republicans and Independents favor increasing regulatory resources and action against the tech industry.”

—Senior Fellows David Brady and Douglas Rivers in a paper for Hoover’s Technology, Economics, and Governance Working Group, March 8, 2022

“We must bear in mind that the United States should seek to maintain its edge in innovation not just to compete with China and others. Technology also offers benefits to our economy and society that the country can ill-afford to miss. For instance, there is great opportunity to harness the promise of technology to address some of our most pressing problems of inequality in education and health care. And needless to say, the connectivity that we have all experienced during the COVID pandemic reminds us that new ways of working, new ways of learning, and more productive ways of doing both can be significantly enhanced by technology.”

—George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics John B. Taylor and Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow Amy Zegart in a paper for Hoover’s  Technology, Economics, and Governance Working Group, March 29, 2021

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John Taylor Hoover Headshot

John B. Taylor

George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics

John B. Taylor is the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at…

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Amy Zegart

Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow

Amy Zegart is the Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, and professor of…

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Lee Ohanian Hoover Headshot

Lee Ohanian

Senior Fellow (adjunct)

Lee E. Ohanian is a senior fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and a professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in…

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David Brady Hoover Headshot

David Brady

Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus

David Brady is the Davies Family Senior Fellow, Emeritus at the Hoover Institution and the Bowen H. and Janice Arthur McCoy Professor of Political Science…

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Douglas Rivers

Senior Fellow

Douglas Rivers is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor of political science at Stanford University. He is also the Chief Scientist at…

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John Villasenor

Senior Fellow (adjunct)

John Villasenor was a senior fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution and is also on the faculty at UCLA, where he is a professor of electrical…

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