Ilan Strauss, (born 1985), is an economist best known for his work on digital platforms and market power, focusing on the role of algorithms in mediating information quality.[1] He is senior research associate at University College London, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, where he leads their digital economy research team, sponsored by the Omidyar Network. He is a visiting associate professor at the University of Johannesburg (office of the Sarchl Chair). He previously taught macroeconomics at New York University (Division of Applied Undergraduate Studies)[2] and at Rice University's online MBA (Jones Graduate School of Business).[3]

Ilan Strauss
Born1985
Cape Town, South Africa
Academic career
InstitutionsUniversity of Johannesburg (UJ),

University College London (UCL)

Rice University
FieldDigital markets and regulation
Alma materSOAS (Ms.C); NSSR (Ph.D)

His work has been featured in the popular press: in Financial Times by Rana Foroohar,[4] by Cory Doctorow,[5] and published in Project Syndicate with Mariana Mazzucato.[6]

Early life and education edit

He holds an Ms.C (first class) from SOAS in Development Economics and a Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research, during which time he also studied Bayesian Statistics at Columbia University under Andrew Gelman.[7][8][9]

Career edit

Early career edit

Ilan initially worked in the non-profit sector, working for the Jewish summer camp organization Habonim Dror Southern Africa, before being involved with non-profits in Cape Town townships (the Social Justice Coalition and Equal Education).

Ilan started out his career in development economics, working at the African Development Bank's research department in Tunisia, before consulting for United Nation bodies, including writing the Africa section of UNCTAD's World Investment Report.[10][11][12][13][14] He has written several papers and book chapters on foreign direct investment, published with Columbia University[15][16] and UNCTAD's Transnational Corporation.[17] He consulted on the impacts of COVID on African economies for several regional bodies between 2020 and 2021.[18][19]

Present work edit

As part of a multi-year, Omidyar Network funded, research project, Ilan has worked closely with Tim O’Reilly and Professor Mariana Mazzucato at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, focusing on the role of algorithms in platform's leveraging their digital market power. This research was published in a series of papers under the title: algorithmic attention rents.[20][21][22][23] His other branch of research at UCL focused on the nature and role of disclosures for digital platforms in regulating Big Tech.[24][25]

Ilan has been an economics commentator on the South African economy.[26] He was on the board of the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative, which helped establish the first national minimum wage in South Africa.[27][28][29]

Awards and Memberships edit

Ilan is 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.[30]

He is a member of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research.

References edit

  1. ^ Strauss, I.; Mazzucato, M. (2023-11-16). "Amazon's Algorithmic Rents: The economics of information on Amazon". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ^ "Ilan Strauss at New York University - School of Professional Studies | Rate My Professors". www.ratemyprofessors.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  3. ^ Stefan De La Garza (2020). "Dateline Rice for July 20, 2020 (Weekend Edition)". Rice News | News and Media Relations | Rice University. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  4. ^ Foroohar, R. (2023-11-06). "We must stop AI replicating the problems of surveillance capitalism". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  5. ^ Doctorow, C. (2023-11-04). "Big Tech's "attention rents"". Medium. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  6. ^ Mazzucato, M; Strauss, I. (2024-02-28). "The Algorithm and Its Discontents | by Mariana Mazzucato & Ilan Strauss". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  7. ^ Strauss, I.; Yang, J. (2021). "Slowing investment rates in developing economies: Evidence from a Bayesian hierarchical model". International Review of Financial Analysis. 77 (C). doi:10.1016/j.irfa.2021.101843. ISSN 1057-5219.
  8. ^ Strauss, I.; Yang, J. (2020). Corporate Secular Stagnation: Empirical Evidence on the Advanced Economy Investment Slowdown (Report). Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
  9. ^ Strauss, I.; Isaacs, G.; Rosenberg, J. (2021). "The effect of shocks to GDP on employment in SADC member states during COVID-19 using a Bayesian hierarchical model". African Development Review. 33 (Suppl 1): S221–S237. doi:10.1111/1467-8268.12524. PMC 8207077. PMID 34149246.
  10. ^ "WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2015" (PDF). United Nations Publication. 2015.
  11. ^ "WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2017" (PDF). United Nations Publication. 2017.
  12. ^ "WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2018" (PDF). United Nations Publication. 2018.
  13. ^ "WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2020" (PDF). United Nations Publication. 2020.
  14. ^ "WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2022" (PDF). United Nations Publication. 2022.
  15. ^ Strauss, I.; Mavroeidi, V. (2024). "印度如何从外商直接投资中获益:来自中国的经验". Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. doi:10.7916/zd75-7q41.
  16. ^ Sachs, L.; Johnson, L.; Coleman, J. (2018). "YEARBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT LAW & POLICY 2018" (PDF). Oxford University Press.
  17. ^ Strauss, I. "Understanding South Africa's current account deficit: The role of foreign direct investment income" (PDF). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  18. ^ Rosenberg, J.; Strauss, I.; Isaacs, G. (2021). "COVID-19 impact on SADC labour markets: Evidence from high-frequency data and other sources". African Development Review. 33 (Suppl 1): S177–S193. doi:10.1111/1467-8268.12528. ISSN 1017-6772. PMC 8207065. PMID 34149243.
  19. ^ Strauss, I.; Isaacs, G.; Rosenberg, J. (2021). "The effect of shocks to GDP on employment in SADC member states during COVID-19 using a Bayesian hierarchical model". African Development Review. 33 (S1): S221–S237. doi:10.1111/1467-8268.12524. ISSN 1017-6772. PMC 8207077. PMID 34149246.
  20. ^ UCL (2022-10-11). "IIPP hosts expert workshop on algorithmic rents". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  21. ^ UCL (2022-09-29). "Algorithmic Rents and Competition". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  22. ^ Korea Herald (2024-03-04). "[Mariana Mazzucato, Ilan Strauss] The algorithm and its discontents". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  23. ^ BBC Mundo (2024-02-01). "Las "rentas de la atención", el concepto con el que 3 académicos explican la estrategia de plataformas como Amazon y Google".
  24. ^ Mazzucato, M.; Strauss, I.; O’Reilly, T.; Ryan-Collins, J. "Regulating Big Tech: the role of enhanced disclosures". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  25. ^ O’Reilly, T.; Strauss, I.; Mazzucato, M. (2023-06-15). "Regulating Big Tech through digital disclosures". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  26. ^ "READ | A letter from 76 economists says govt can do more to limit the economic harm of Covid-19". Business. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  27. ^ "People". National Minimum Wage. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  28. ^ Smith, C. (2016). "Ramaphosa appoints panel on minimum wage". Business. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  29. ^ "South Africa sets first ever minimum wage". wol.iza.org. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  30. ^ Chao, B. (2022). "Investing in Research to Inform a New Paradigm". Economic Security Project. Retrieved 2024-03-28.