Publications: Robert D. Atkinson

Technologies and tech companies are accused of creating a myriad of societal problems. Technology Fears and Scapegoats exposes them as mostly myths, falsehoods, and exaggerations. It issues a clarion call to restore the West’s faith in technological progress.

Canada needs a productivity commission. But instead of emulating Australia’s model, which is driven by orthodox neoclassical economics, it should take guidance from “productionists” with a deep understanding of firm, industry, and technology dynamics.

Canada faces unprecedented challenges in innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The first step in addressing them is to develop a clear understanding of the Canadian economy’s underlying structure and performance in each area. Policymakers must then tailor strategies for specific industries and technologies instead of focusing on principally on macro factors.

The past few years have seen a remarkable rise in the quality and quantity of deepfakes.

Helping SME manufacturers adopt digital technologies will boost productivity, expand output, and allow them to simultaneously raise wages, compete in global markets, and be more flexible in their production processes.

China is leading in chemical production, especially basic chemicals. And while it is currently lagging behind on innovation—especially in more complex fine chemicals—all signs suggest it will catch up with the global leaders within the next decade or two.

Alone, America cannot stem Beijing’s rise in advanced industries. We need a new pact with Europe. Its objective should be to refuse to surrender to technological domination by the CCP. Being pioneers of the green transition will not be enough.

The changes two bills are making to reduce market concentration in the Canadian economy pose grave risks to the future of the innovation that is essential to keeping Canada’s innovation economy from declining even more.

With the gradual shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles, it is only a matter of time before the nation will have to replace gas taxes with a vehicle miles traveled system to pay for road maintenance. The most sensible way to start would be with heavy trucks.

By changing the tax credit to be quasi-incremental, unifying the rates between small and large businesses, and simplifying the filing process, the government will be able to incentivize private R&D spending more effectively.