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Algorithmic Rents Research Showcase

12 October 2023, 10:30 am–12:30 pm

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IIPP hosted a research showcase in conversation with Mariana Mazzucato, Tim O’Reilly and Ilan Strauss on Algorithmic Rents.

Event Information

Open to

All

Organiser

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose and Council on Urban Initiatives

Date: 12 October 2023
Time: 10:30 - 12:30 pm (BST) UK Time

Watch the video here

Download the showcase presentation slides

Meet the panel:

  • Mariana Mazzucato | Professor in the Economics of Innovation & Public Value and Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Tim O'Reilly | Founder, CEO, and Chairman of O’Reilly Media and Visiting Professor of Practice, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
  • Ilan Strauss | Senior Research Associate, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Agenda: 

  • 10:30am – Welcome & Framing of Digital Rents on Platforms (Prof. Mariana Mazzucato)
  • 10:50am [PAPER 1] – Algorithmic Attention Rents (Mr. Tim O'Reilly)
  • 11:30am [PAPER 2] – Advertising as Attention Rent & Market Power on Amazon (Dr. Ilan Strauss)
  • 12:10pm [PAPER 3] – Big Data Evidence on Amazon's Ability to Allocate Clicks (Mr. Rufus Rock)
  • 12:30pm – Closing Remarks 

Read more about our research on digital economy and algorithmic rents on our research page.

About the Speakers

Professor Mariana Mazzucato

Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation & Public Value at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Mariana Mazzucato
Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). She received her BA from Tufts University and her MA and PhD from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research. Her previous posts include the RM Phillips Professorial Chair at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University.

She is the author of four highly-acclaimed books: The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (2013) which investigates the critical role the state plays in driving growth; The Value of Everything: making and taking in the global economy (2018) which looks at how value creation needs to be rewarded over value extraction; Mission Economy: a moonshot guide to changing capitalism (2021) rethinks the capacity and role of government within the economy and society; and most recently The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies (2023).

She advises policy makers around the world on innovation-led inclusive and sustainable growth. Her current roles include being Chair of the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All, Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, Co-Chair on the Council on Urban Initiatives, member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council, the UN High Level Advisory Board for Economic and Social Affairs, the European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group on Human and Robotic Space Exploration for Europe, Argentina’s Economic and Social Council and Vinnova’s Advisory Panel in Sweden and the OECD High-Level Advisory Panel on Climate and Economic Resilience. Previously, through her role as Special Advisor for the EC Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation (2017-2019), she authored the high-impact report on Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation in the European Union, turning “missions” into a crucial new instrument in the European Commission’s Horizon innovation programme, and more recently, authored a report with the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Transformational Change in Latin America and the Caribbean: A mission-oriented approach.

More about Professor Mariana Mazzucato

Tim O'Reilly

Visiting Professor of Practice at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Tim O'Reilly
Tim O’Reilly is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of O’Reilly Media, the company that has been providing the picks and shovels of learning to the Silicon Valley gold rush for the past thirty-five years. The company delivers online learning, publishes books, and runs online events about cutting-edge technology, and has a history of convening conversations that reshape the computer industry. If you’ve heard the term “open source software”, “web 2.0”, “the Maker movement”, “government as a platform”, or “the WTF economy”, he’s had a hand in framing each of those big ideas. Tim is also a partner at early stage venture firm O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), and on the boards of Code for America, PeerJ, Civis Analytics, and PopVox. He is the author of many technical books published by O’Reilly Media, and most recently WTF? What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us (Harper Business, 2017). He is working on a new book about why we need to rethink antitrust in the era of internet-scale platforms. More about Tim O'Reilly

Dr Ilan Strauss

Senior Research Associate at UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Ilan Strauss
Dr. Ilan Strauss is a senior research associate at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (London), where he leads the digital economy research team with Mariana Mazzucato (principal investigator) and Tim O’Reilly – funded by the Omidyar Network. His work investigates new theories of harm and competition in digital markets, with an emphasis on Big Tech’s digital platforms and ecosystems. Ilan is also the receipt of an Economic Security Project grant (jointly with Dr. Jangho Yang) looking at the role of acquisitions in Big Tech attaining dominance in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

Ilan is a Senior Research Associate in the Office of the SARChI Chair in Industrial Development, University ofJohannesburg (South Africa). Previously, he taught macroeconomics at Rice University (Jones Graduate School of Business) and at New York University (Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies). Ilan has consulted for Airfinity (London), UNCTAD (Investment Division), the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNIDO, the ILO, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Ilan holds a Ph.D in economics from the New School for Social Research (New York) and an MSc in economics from SOAS (University of London, First Class). For recent information see: www.ilan-strauss.org

More about Dr Ilan Strauss