About

Founded at the Collège de France by Philippe Aghion and named in memory of Emmanuel Farhi, our lab explores one of the most exciting questions in economics today: what really drives innovation and growth?

The research themes of the Farhi Innovation Lab are numerous. We look at how innovation interacts with competition, trade, inequality, taxation, labor markets, automation, and the environment.

Research in Economics

The research conducted at the Farhi Innovation Lab sheds new light on some of the most significant challenges in economic growth, including industrial take-off, the middle-income trap, secular stagnation, and the dynamics of inequality. A weekly research seminar and an annual conference together form the foundation of a productive ecosystem dedicated to the creation of new knowledge.

Innovation Campus

The Laboratory has also established the Innovation Campus, an initiative designed to reach high school students in disadvantaged and remote areas and to familiarize them with cutting-edge research in economics, biology, and mathematics. As part of this work, the Campus has succeeded in rethinking both the content and the teaching of economics for French high school students, bringing it closer to the approaches adopted by the world’s leading academic institutions.

Research Focus

Innovation and Science

How does innovation drive economic progress? What makes firms invest in new ideas? Does competition encourage or stifle innovation? How can we best foster science and innovation?
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Growth

What drives long-term economic growth? Why do some countries keep growing while others fall behind? How does innovation create both opportunity and disruption? What policies help economies grow faster and thrive?
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Environment

How can innovation help fight climate change? How can policy redirect innovation toward clean technologies? Can competition make firms greener? How can the green transition create new jobs and industries?
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Labor, Technology & Automation

How do new technologies change the way firms produce? Does automation destroy jobs, or can it create new ones? Which workers benefit from technological change? How should governments help workers adapt to new technologies?
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Artificial Intelligence

Can AI make workers more productive? Will AI create more jobs than it destroys? Which workers and firms benefit most from AI? What policies can help society benefit from AI?
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Productivity

Why are some firms much more productive than others? How do new technologies change productivity growth? Why has productivity slowed down in many advanced economies? How can public policy support productivity growth?
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Our researchers

The Farhi Innovation Lab brings together established economists and talented young researchers from many different backgrounds. Learn more about the members of our team!

See the list of our researchers