A unique symposium organised in the Steel City, bringing together early-career and established researchers working on the economics of innovation to discuss new research frontiers, data and methodologies, and policy implications for an inclusive and sustainable economic growth fuelled by innovations.

2025 Bessemer Symposium in the Economics of Innovation

The School of Economics at the University of Sheffield, in collaboration with the Innovation Research Caucus, invites you to attend the second edition of the Bessemer Symposium in the Economics of Innovation, taking place on the 17th of September 2025.

Symposium Objectives

The symposium aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among early-career researchers working on innovation-related topics. It provides an opportunity to present research, receive constructive feedback, and engage with leading scholars in the field. Each participant will present one paper, with discussions led by senior researchers to ensure valuable insights and academic engagement.

Themes

The 2025 symposium will particularly focus on the role of public policies and research, development, and innovation (RDI) infrastructures in fostering inclusive and sustainable innovation and economic growth. We welcome submissions on (but not limited to) the following topics:

• The economics of research, development, and innovation (RDI);

• The role of RDI infrastructure in technological diffusion;

• RDI public policies and the spatial distribution of innovation and knowledge;

• Trade-offs and complementarities between RDI support policies, subsidies, and R&D tax credits;

• Nature and benefits of public-private RDI collaborations;

• RDI policies for green technologies and the net-zero transition.

Keynote and Policy Roundtable

The symposium will feature a keynote speech by Prof. Carolina Castaldi, Chair in Geography of Innovation at Utrecht University. Additionally, a policy roundtable will bring together policymakers from government departments, public authorities, and international organizations to discuss challenges and opportunities for fostering inclusive and sustainable innovation-driven growth.

Venue

University of Sheffield, The Wave Seminar Room 2, 2 Whitham Rd, Sheffield S10 2AH.

Programme

• 10:15 – 10:30 Welcome & Coffee

• 10:30 – 12:00 Presentations Session I:

  • Suleyman Faruk Gozen (University of Bristol) “Managerial Incentives and Intangibles: Rethinking the Firm Response to Tax-Induced Shocks”

  • Glory Chinaza Okutue (University of Nottingham) “Litigation cost and risk taking in innovation”

  • Çiğdem Ekiz (UNU-MERIT) “Buyer-Supplier Interactions, R&D Spillovers and Firm Productivity”

• 12:00 – 12:45 Policy Roundtable: Antonia Custance-Baker (IPO), Carolin Ioramashvili (Cabinet Office & University of Sussex), Halima Jibril (University of Warwick)

• 12:45 – 13:30 Lunch Break

• 13:30 – 14:15 Keynote Speech: Prof. Carolina Castaldi (Utrecht University)

• 14:15 – 15:15 Presentations Session II:

  • Ruveyda Gozen (Cardiff Business School & CEP LSE) “Property Rights and Innovation Dynamism: The Role of Women Inventors”

  • Gaia Dossi (UCL & EIEF) “Race and Science”

• 15:15 – 15:30 Coffee

• 15:30 – 17:00 Presentations Session III:

  • Manfredi Aliberti (Einaudi Institute for Economics & Finance) “The Effect of PhD Programs on Innovation: Evidence from the 1983 Introduction of PhDs in Italy”

  • Luu Duc Toan Huynh (Queen Mary University of London) “Sanctions and Knowledge Spillovers”

  • Stefania Scrofani (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) “The diffusion of digital services in the Public Administration: The leadership role of Mayors”

Submission & Registration

Paper submission is now closed. If you would like to attend the symposium, please register using the following form by the 31st of August 2025.

For inquiries, please contact Dr. Enrico Vanino at the School of Economics, University of Sheffield (e.vanino@sheffield.ac.uk).

We look forward to welcoming you to Sheffield!