Professor Paul David | All Souls College

Research interests included the economics of past and current technological change, demographic history, institutional evolution, and topics in the economics of industrial organization with special reference to the micro-level sources of long-term productivity growth.

Background

Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College (2002 to 2023)
Senior Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute (from 2002 to 2008)
Senior Research Fellow, All Souls College (from 1993 to 2002)
Assistant Professor of Economics (1961–6), Associate Professor of Economics (1967–70); Professor of Economics, and of History (1971–2005), Stanford University (from 1961 to 2006)
Teaching Fellow, Harvard Economics Department; also Sophomore Economics Tutor, Adams House, Harvard (from 1958 to 1960)
Tutor, Economic History, Pembroke College, Cambridge (from 1957 to 1968)
Fulbright Research Student, University of Cambridge (from 1956 to 1958)
Postgraduate economics student, Harvard University (from 1958 to 1960)
Undergraduate Harvard College (from 1952 to 1956)

Research Interests

The economics of technological change, demographic change and institutional change, and other areas of theoretical and empirical research on the nature of path-dependence in economic processes
Economic history, with special reference to the U.S. and the North Atlantic economies in the modern era
Contemporary public policy issues: the role of interoperability standards in the evolution of network industries and the economics of science and technology

Selected publications

Other professional memberships and roles

Economic History Association (past President)
International Econometric Society (Fellow)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow)
American Philosophical Society (Fellow)
Western Economic Association International (President-Elect)

Teaching

Undergraduate and graduate courses in American economic history, European economic history, and economics of science and technology
Graduate research seminars: Social Science History Workshop and Science, Technology and Economy Workshop; AEA

Research awards and grants

Mellon Foundation Emeritus Research Award.
Rockefeller Foundation Grant.