Assoc. Prof. Myra Mohnen

“The Economics of Scientific Knowledge Production”

This is the title of the three CES Lectures to be offered by Myra Mohnen in June (2026). These three lectures survey the empirical economics of scientific knowledge production, synthesizing recent advances at the intersection of innovation, networks, and the science of science. Lecture 1 asks who produces ideas – examining family background, immigration, education, and the geography of scientific collaboration. Lecture 2 turns to the rate and direction of science: what patent citations actually measure, what redirects the trajectory of research, and how generative AI is reshaping the science–technology frontier. Lecture 3 examines the institutions of science: open-science norms, public R&D and the costs of redirecting research, and the geography and network structure through which knowledge spills over.

Myra Mohnen’s research interests revolve around the creation and diffusion of scientific knowledge and in particular the role of social network in these knowledge flow and consequently promoting innovation. Current areas of research include: 1) Innovation: network effects, knowledge diffusion; 2) Social mobility: social interactions; role in infrastructure access; spatial patterns in Victorian England and Wales; 3) Climate-change: Knowledge spillovers among clean and dirty; re-pricing of green firms following the Paris Agreement.

Myra Mohnen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Ottawa. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics; Visiting Associate at the Grantham Research Institute, LSE; Fellow of the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute Markets and Public Policy, Universities of Bonn and Cologne; Research Fellow at IZA@LISER Network; and Co-organizer of the Ottawa Applied Microeconomics Lab. Ms. Mohnen holds a PhD from University College London.