Christian Catalini, MIT Sloan School of Management
Christian Catalini, MIT Sloan School of Management
TOM Seminar: Rules For a Nascent Domain: Technological Innovation and Regulatory Uncertainty
TOM Seminar: Rules For a Nascent Domain: Technological Innovation and Regulatory Uncertainty
13 May 201912:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Harvard Business School faculty and doctoral students only
Abstract:
When confronted with a rapidly evolving and growing new technology that has the potential
to increase competition and lower barriers to entry, but that also introduces immediate
challenges from a market safety perspective, regulators have to decide not only how
to intervene, but also when to do so. On the one hand, by allowing additional entrepreneurial
experiments to take place before introducing new rules, they may learn more about
the technology, increase the odds that some of its most valuable applications will
be developed within their jurisdictions, and ultimately write better rules. On the
other hand, by delaying regulation they may expose consumers, investors or firms to
risk, and discourage investment because of regulatory uncertainty. Between allowing
for complete 'laissez-faire' and introducing a full ban, they can also issue directional
notices that set the stage for a regulatory sandbox, but also clarify that participants
will be monitored and the space will not remain unregulated. Using a novel set of
digital trails on technology experiments in a nascent domain, we examine how regulatory
notices influence the rate and direction of innovation. Results show that while non-binding,
these interventions can play a meaningful role in shaping the types of early-stage
projects that thrive in the market, and the investors that are attracted to them.
Location:
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center 103
Organizer:
Christian Catalini is the Theodore T. Miller Career Development Professor at MIT, and Associate Professor of Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management, MIT Sloan School of Management
Christian's main areas of interest are the economics of digitization, entrepreneurship, and science. His research focuses on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, the economics of equity crowdfunding and startup growth, and the economics of scientific collaboration.