Christopher Poliquin

Christopher Poliquin joined the UCLA Anderson faculty in 2018. His main research interests lie at the intersection of technology, organizational design and strategy, including the effect of tech adoption on wages and the determinants of firm hierarchy in startups.

Other work, widely picked up in the media, examines the factors that affect gun policy and its impact on violence. In one paper he looked at the effects of handgun waiting periods on gun deaths and in another the impact of mass shootings on gun policy. “Firearms are a leading cause of injury-related death,” Poliquin says. “We need more research that can speak to basic facts related to gun violence and the potential impact of different policies.”

His more recent research has explored the question of who benefits ― or benefits most ― from the adoption of technology in the workplace. Using data from Brazilian manufacturing firms, Poliquin found that when firms adopt broadband technology, higher-paid workers benefit the most and pay inequality increases.

“Scientific methods are a powerful tool for contributing to contemporary debates of interest to managers and policymakers,” Poliquin says. “How are the gains from technology distributed in society? What organizational decisions allow startups to create the most value? How we answer these questions, and choices we make as a result, have potentially large impacts on the economy and people’s lives.”

Poliquin earned his doctorate in business administration from Harvard Business School. He was also a teaching fellow in the economic analysis of public policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.