Biography 

Nathan is an Associate Professor of Economics at Oxford University and co-founder of the empirical economics research lab, the Industrial Policy Group, with Dr. Réka Juhász (University of British Columbia). His research interests span big data, machine learning, economic development, political economy, and industrial economics. Before joining Oxford, Dr. Lane was an economics professor at Monash University and co-founder of SodaLabs.io, a lab dedicated to answering social science questions using alternative data and computational tools. He previously served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Professor Daron Acemoglu.

Dr. Lane’s research agenda focuses on establishing fundamental facts about economic change, with particular emphasis on understanding the efficacy, determinants, and patterns of industrial policies. His work has been featured in The Economist, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Trade Talks, and other major outlets. Through the Industrial Policy Group, Dr. Lane aims to establish industrial strategy as a rigorous object of inquiry within economics. His recent projects quantify global policy patterns using mass textual data on commercial policy and the role of policy in the global semiconductor sector.

Dr. Lane is passionate about computational methods, machine learning, and unstructured data. He has been a Linux user for 30 years. Outside of academia, he enjoys comedy, hardcore punk music, and exercise science. He divides his time between Oxford and San Francisco with his partner and one-eyed cat, Wazi.

Contact: nathaniel.lane@economics.ox.ac.uk