Economists and economics in tech companies, by Athey and Luca

Susan Athey and Mike Luca have a new paper about the job market for economists in tech companies, and about the jobs they do there:

Economists (and Economics) in Tech Companies

Harvard Business School NOM Unit Working Paper No. 19-027

Abstract: As technology platforms have created new markets and new ways of acquiring information, economists have come to play an increasingly central role in tech companies – tackling problems such as platform design, strategy, pricing, and policy. Over the past five years, hundreds of PhD economists have accepted positions in the technology sector. In this paper, we explore the skills that PhD economists apply in tech companies, the companies that hire them, the types of problems that economists are currently working on, and the areas of academic research that have emerged in relation to these problems.