Hi, I’m Eli, and this is my website.
I’m chief economist at the Abundance Institute, on a sacred quest to increase the pace of American economic growth, which has stagnated since around 1973.
Productivity growth has not only been stagnant but also uneven across industries. We’ve done great in computer manufacturing, but terrible in sectors like healthcare and construction. This has had negative consequences for income inequality and regional decline.
To get America growing again, we need to bring computer-like growth to sectors like energy, where past exponential growth faltered in the 1970s.
If previous transportation speed improvements had held, we’d be zipping across the Atlantic at Mach 4 by now. There should be no slow, red-eye flights in the 21st century.
Drug development is also much more expensive than it used to be (yes, the chart is adjusted for inflation). Think about all the added cures we could have if we could control development costs.
If we want fast growth in sectors like energy, transportation, and health—all highly regulated industries—we need to be willing to do things differently. My job is to figure out what those different things are and how we get there.
Before joining the Abundance Institute, I was a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. Before that, I was head of global policy and comms at Boom. Before that, I was a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and director of its Technology Policy Program.
I have published in top newspapers, negotiated global supersonic standards, derailed an international treaty, spent too much time on Twitter, and received a PhD in economics from George Mason University.
In my spare time, I tweet and blog, try to not screw up my kids, invest in exciting companies, read books, and seek out flow states.
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