S3 E8: Space Race, Cold War, and Public R&D Policies with Alex Whalley from the University of Calgary

In this episode, our guest is Alexander T. Whalley from the University of Calgary and we talked about his academic journey, paper suggestions, large public R&D policies, space race, and more!

Host: Ruveyda Gozen (@ruveyda_gozen on X)

01:35 Big Picture Questions and Alex’s Academic Journey 

03:35 A Research Habit Recommendation

05:01 A “Must-Read” Paper Suggestion (Enrico Moretti: https://moretti.econ.berkeley.edu ) 

06:40 Returns to Public R&D: Space Race and Cold War 

13:15 CIA Data: Is it Accessible? 

15:39 How Should We Understand the “No Productivity Effects”? 

18:30 Should Governments Implement More Mission-Focus R&D Policies? 22:01 Surprising Moments from the “Moonshot” Paper

23:00 Geography of Innovation 

25:56 Gaps in the Literature 

27:38 Cheezy Questions & Never Have I Ever!

Papers Mentioned:

Moonshot: Public R&D and Growth

150 Years of the Geography of Innovation