What research idea lies behind your participation in the Talent Track?
My research investigates the historical knowledge economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I study the determinants of knowledge transmission and its effects on innovation, as well as the role of upper-tail human capital and human capital formation. Methodologically, my work combines large micro-datasets on historical knowledge elites with recent advances in natural language processing applied to historical text data.
How did you become interested in your field of research?
Originally a student of Philosophy & Economics, I have always been fascinated by the philosophy and history of science. Why do our conceptions of the world change? What underlies paradigm change? During my later studies in Economic History, I became fascinated by the possibility to use quantitative tools to capture broad trends in the knowledge economy and to rigorously examine mechanisms of change.
What research question would you above all like to find the answer to? And why is that?
Broadly, I am interested in how new ideas can be determinants of economic change.Specifically, I seek to better understand the determinants of growth and innovation in the knowledge economy during the time of the Scientific and Industrial Revolution.During this time, the European knowledge economy went through a deep and unprecedented transformation, giving rise to modern science and a new culture of useful knowledge. Understanding the determinants of change in the knowledge economy during this time, will greatly contribute to our understanding of societal change and the origin of modern economic growth.
Which impact do you expect the Talent Track will have on your career and on your research field in general?
During the Talent Track, I will work on developing an ERC proposal and to explore other funding routes that will enable me to fully develop my research agenda.
Which impact do you expect your research to have on the surrounding society?
Many of the most pressing challenges facing European society today, such as climate change, the AI transformation, and European competitiveness, require us to unlock our potential for innovation. By studying the history of the knowledge economy and the determinants of structural change and innovation within it, I aim to improve our understanding of the economic processes in the knowledge economy.
