From the Ivory Tower to Capitol Hill: Which Academics Get a Voice in Congress?

Seminar in presence

Astrid Ulv Thomsen
Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
 

Abstract:

Examining academics’ engagement with public policymakers, this paper investigates the impact of technological changes on the composition of expert witnesses, in the context of testimony before the U.S. Congress. Utilizing a COVID-19 related policy change in Congress, the authors show that technological tools reducing the opportunity costs for certain demographic groups changed the composition of witnesses significantly. The paper documents that female economists have historically been underrepresented in this form of knowledge dissemination but have seen an upward trend as their representation in the broader field increased. After the implementation of online hearings, women were significantly more likely to give testimony, compared to men. The results also show that while overall, the geography and institutional status of expert witnesses did not change, an increase in the probability of female economists from these groups is documented. The results imply that digital tools promoting flexibility can alleviate disparities in high-impact dissemination by academics, which in turn can increase policymakers’ access to high-quality researchers with a diverse pool of ideas, perspectives, and knowledge.

Astrid Ulv Thomsen is a PhD fellow at Copenhagen Business School in the Department of Strategy and Innovation. She studies disparities in science – a key challenge both for individual opportunities and for the effective allocation of talent. Her research examines when and why inequalities in the access to resources in science emerge, and how supply- and demand-side factors shape access to disseminating knowledge to policy spheres. Astrid is in the third year of her PhD and is currently visiting Bocconi University in Milan hosted by Myriam Mariani.

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