Ian Clay
Former Research Assistant
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Ian Clay was a research assistant for ITIF’s Global Innovation team. He holds a B.S. in mathematics and economics from the University of Iowa and an M.S. in economics from the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom.
Recent Publications
Fact of the Week: Improvements to Broadband Speed and Adoption Contributed $1.3 Trillion to US GDP Between 2010 and 2020
Economists from Telecom Advisory Services estimate that greater broadband adoption and faster speeds contributed $1.3 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product between 2010 and 2020
Fact of the Week: China’s Youth Unemployment Rate Reaches Its Highest Level on Record in April
20.4 percent of China’s population aged 16 to 24 years old (not including full-time students) were unemployed in April.
Fact of the Week: Access to an AI-Based Conversation Assistant Increased Customer Service Productivity by 14 Percent on Average
Access to an AI-based conversational assistant increased customer service productivity by an average 13.8 percent at Fortune 500 companies.
Fact of the Week: Two-Thirds of US Adults Think the Government Should Encourage the Production of Wind and Solar Power
In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center last month, 66 percent of respondents said they believe the U.S. government should encourage wind and solar power production.
Fact of the Week: India’s Population Is Set To Overtake China’s This Month
The United Nations estimates that India’s population will reach 1.429 billion at the end of 2023, compared to China’s estimated population of 1.426 billion.
Fact of the Week: US Ranks 10th Among OECD Countries in Share of Employees With AI-Related Skills
In 2019, the AI workforce made up 0.37 percent of the total workforce in the United States, which ranked 10th out of 24 OECD nations and was only slightly higher than the OECD average of 0.34 percent.
Fact of the Week: US Ranks 12th Among Leading Markets in Share of Mid-Band Spectrum Allocated to Exclusive Licenses
The Federal Communications Commission auctioned off 270 MHz of mid-band radio spectrum to exclusive licensed use, and the United States now ranks 12th out of the 15 benchmark countries.
Data Is Not Oil, Bacon, or Gold: An Actual Measure of Data as an Asset
The struggle to understand data leads to bad analogies—that it is the new oil, the new bacon, or the new gold—and to bad government policies, as policymakers can’t make an informed cost-benefit analysis of digital policies, such as privacy, cybersecurity, digital trade, or innovation.
Fact of the Week: Apprenticeships in the US Increased by 66 Percent Between 2011 and 2021
Between 2011 and 2021, the number of active apprenticeships in the United States increased from 357,692 to 593,690, a 66 percent increase.
Fact of the Week: Each Industrial Robot Installed in Recent Years Created Between 13 and 16 Jobs
From 2005 to 2016, economists Jon Chung and Yong Suk Lee found that, while robots initially led to lower employment and wages for affected workers, that trend reversed as firms and workers adjusted to the broader adoption of robots in production.
Fact of the Week: Extending Funding for the ACP Has Strong Bipartisan Support Among Registered Voters
78 percent of registered voters support extending the Affordable Connectivity Program’s funding—specifically, 95 percent of Democrats, 70 percent of Independents, and 64 percent of Republicans
Fact of the Week: The Share of Job Postings in the US Allowing Remote and Hybrid Work Arrangements Has More Than Tripled Since 2019
The share of job postings in the United States saying new employees could work from home at least one day per week increased from about 4 percent in 2019 to 14 percent in early 2023.
