Ilan Strauss

Last updated
Ilan Strauss
Born1985
Cape Town, South Africa
Academic career
FieldDigital markets and regulation
InstitutionsUniversity of Johannesburg (UJ),

University College London (UCL)

Rice University
Alma materSOAS (Ms.C); NSSR (Ph.D)

Ilan Strauss (born 1985) is an economist focused on digital platforms and market power, particularly the impact of algorithms on information quality. He is a senior research associate at University College London, Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, leading the digital economy research team. He also serves as a visiting associate professor at the University of Johannesburg. Previously, he taught macroeconomics at New York University and Rice University's online MBA program. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Strauss works have been featured in the Financial Times and Project Syndicate. [8] [9]

Early life and education

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. [10] [11] [12]

Career

Strauss began his career in the non-profit sector with Habonim Dror Southern Africa, later working with organizations like the Social Justice Coalition and Equal Education in Cape Town townships.He transitioned to development economics at the African Development Bank's research department in Tunisia and consulted for UN bodies, contributing to the Africa section of UNCTAD's World Investment Report. [13] [14] [15] [16] He has published papers on foreign direct investment with Columbia University and UNCTAD and consulted on COVID's impact on African economies from 2020 to 2021. [17] [18] [19]

Strauss collaborated with Tim O’Reilly and Professor Mariana Mazzucato at UCL on research about algorithms and digital market power, resulting in papers on algorithmic attention rents. His other research at UCL examined disclosures for regulating Big Tech. [20] [21] [22]

Strauss is also an economics commentator on the South African economy, served on the board of the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative, and is a member of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research. [23] He was on the board of the National Minimum Wage Research Initiative, which helped establish the first national minimum wage in South Africa. [24] [25] [26] [27]

Awards and honours

Strauss 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. [28] [29]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. UCL (2021-08-04). "Ilan Strauss". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  2. "Ilan Strauss". The Conversation. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  3. 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.
  4. "Ilan Strauss at New York University - School of Professional Studies | Rate My Professors". www.ratemyprofessors.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  5. "Ilan Strauss at New York University - School of Professional Studies | Rate My Professors". www.ratemyprofessors.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  6. Doctorow, C. (2023-11-04). "Big Tech's "attention rents"". Medium. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  7. 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.
  8. Foroohar, R. (2023-11-06). "We must stop AI replicating the problems of surveillance capitalism". Financial Times. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  9. Mazzucato, M; Strauss, I. (2024-02-28). "The Algorithm and Its Discontents | by Mariana Mazzucato & Ilan Strauss". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. UCL (2022-10-11). "IIPP hosts expert workshop on algorithmic rents". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  14. UCL (2022-09-29). "Algorithmic Rents and Competition". UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  15. Korea Herald (2024-03-04). "[Mariana Mazzucato, Ilan Strauss] The algorithm and its discontents". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  16. 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".
  17. Strauss, Ilan; O’reilly, Tim; Mazzucato, Mariana (2024-07-01). "Amazon's Algorithmic Rents: The economics of information on Amazon". UC Law Science and Technology Journal. 15 (2): 203. ISSN   2331-835X.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. Strauss, I. "Understanding South Africa's current account deficit: The role of foreign direct investment income" (PDF). United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. "READ | A letter from 76 economists says govt can do more to limit the economic harm of Covid-19". Business. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  24. "People". National Minimum Wage. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  25. Smith, C. (2016). "Ramaphosa appoints panel on minimum wage". Business. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  26. "South Africa sets first ever minimum wage". wol.iza.org. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  27. "Ilan Strauss". Social Science Research Council (SSRC). Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  28. Chao, B. (2022). "Investing in Research to Inform a New Paradigm". Economic Security Project. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  29. Strauss, Ilan; Mazzucato, Mariana; Rock, Rufus; O'Reilly, Tim (2024-04-10). "To understand the risks posed by AI, follow the money". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-08-30.