Robert D. Atkinson

Robert David Atkinson (born November 22, 1954) is a Canadian-American economist. He is the founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., that promotes policies based on innovation economics. He was previously Vice President of the Progressive Policy Institute.

Early life and education Atkinson was born in Calgary, Alberta, on November 22, 1954. He moved to the United States in 1962.

Career

Atkinson worked as a program director at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) from 1989 to 1990.

In 2006, Atkinson left PPI and founded the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, which Ars Technica has described as "one of the leading, and most prolific, tech policy think tanks." In 2009, he advised the Obama-Biden transition's NIST agency review and Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform teams, and in 2011 the Obama administration appointed him to the National Innovation and Competitiveness Strategy Advisory Board. Atkinson also serves as a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Awards and honors In 1996, Atkinson was named a Small Business Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2002, he was honored as one of the "GT 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers" by Government Technology magazine and the Center for Digital Government. In 2006, he was listed among Inc. magazine's "Best Friends in D.C.: Thinkers." In 2009, he was named one of Ars Technica's "Top Tech Policy People to Watch."

Books The Past And Future of America's Economy: Long Waves of Innovation That Power Cycles of Growth , Edward Elgar, 2005 Supply-Side Follies: Why Conservative Economics Fails, Liberal Economics Falters, and Innovation Economics is the Answer , Rowman & Littlefield, 2007 Innovation Economics: The Race for Global Advantage , Yale University Press, 2012 Big Is Beautiful: Debunking the Myth of Small Business with Michael Lind, , The MIT Press, 2018 Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths about Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today's Innovation Economy with David Moschella, , Palgrave Macmillan, 2024