From prehistoric humans that invented fire, to great scientific minds like Albert Einstein, to millions of software engineers that made LLMs and AI possible and generations of entrepreneurs that have advanced industries one risk at a time.
But do we know where they come from?
A PhD student at MIT studying the economics of innovation to answer the great mystery of where our ideas come from.
Throughout this website, follow the flow of ideas amongst the innovative minds of scientists, entrepreneurs, and web developers in the background to watch the process of idea generation unfold in front of your eyes.
Innovation Economics @ MIT
My name is Vansh. I am a PhD student at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management program.
I am interested in applying my knowledge of innovation, econometrics, computer science, and biostatistics to study how and when people come up with ideas. Currently, I am exploring the effects of proximity on innovation and related policies. Recently, I have been curious about innovation’s links to human evolution as well. My works-in-progress include research projects that study the effectiveness of the GitHub Sponsors Program to improve innovation, and the effectiveness of Brazilian municipal governments in mitigating the effects of regular flooding disasters. I have research experience in development, innovation, education, healthcare, industrial organization, strategy, and urban economics. Please go to the research section to learn more about some of my research projects!
Network Alignment
A living ecosystem of labs, institutes, and firms that shape my research orbit across MIT, Cornell, the Innovation Growth Lab, and industry collaborators.
I researched the competitive effects of healthcare mergers in the US as an economic consultant at Charles River Associates. This involved a lot of experience in industrial organization, urban economics, and healthcare economics. I frequently corresponded with the U.S. Department of Justice and legal scholars to discuss the efficacy of legal frameworks that govern antitrust enforcement policies in the US for the healthcare industry.
I like to apply what I have learned in classroom to solve real-world problems. I led pro-bono data-driven consulting projects in India and the USA, and was recognized as one of the top 10 leaders in business consulting in India by the CEO Insights magazine in June 2022.
Teaching is another excellent way of learning for me and I have greatly enjoyed and benefited from being an undergraduate teaching assistant for various CS courses at Cornell.
Outside of academia, I am passionate about exploring cities & transit systems, and learning to bike hands-free.
This paper seeks to understand the effects of the introduction of GitHub Sponsorships on digital innovation.
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