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Benjamin Jones

Gordon and Llura Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship, Professor of Strategy, Faculty Director, Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (KIEI) at Kellogg School of Management

Schools

  • Kellogg School of Management

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Biography

Kellogg School of Management

Benjamin F. Jones is the Gordon and Llura Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship, a Professor of Strategy, and the faculty director of the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative. An economist by training, his research focuses largely on innovation and creativity, with recent work investigating the role of teamwork in innovation and the relationship between age and invention. Professor Jones also studies global economic development, including the roles of education, climate, and national leadership in explaining the wealth and poverty of nations. His research has appeared in journals such as Science, the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the American Economic Review, and has been profiled in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and The New Yorker.

A former Rhodes Scholar, Professor Jones served in 2010-2011 as the senior economist for macroeconomics for the White House Council of Economic Advisers and earlier served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  In 2011, he was awarded the Stanley Reiter Best Paper Award for the best academic article written by a Kellogg faculty member in the prior four years.  Professor Jones is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Education

  • PhD, 2003, Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • MPhil, 1997, Economics, Oxford University
  • BSE, 1995, Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Summa Cum Laude

Academic Positions

  • Gund Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2014-present
  • Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, 2019-present
  • Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012-present
  • Associate Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2007-2014
  • Faculty Affiliate, Center for International and Comparative Studies, Northwestern University, 2005-present
  • Faculty Affiliate, Center for International Economics and Development, Northwestern University, 2005-present
  • Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2005-2010
  • Assistant Professor, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2003-2007
  • Lecturer, Kazakhstan Institute for Management and Economic Progress, 1996-1996

Awards

  • Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award
  • Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award
  • Excellence in Refereeing Award, American Economic Review
  • Finalist for L. G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award
  • Stanley Reiter Best Paper Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2011
  • Excellence in Refereeing Award, American Economic Review, 2009

Videos

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Cases

Jones, Benjamin F. and Aaron K Chatterji. 2016. "Learning What Works in Educational Technology with a Case Study of EDUSTAR." Brookings Institution.

Despite much fanfare, new technologies have yet to fundamentally advance student outcomes in K–12 schools or other educational settings. We believe that the system that supports the development and dissemination of educational technology tools is falling short. The key missing ingredient is rigorous evaluation. No one knows what works and for whom. This policy memo articulates general principles that should guide the evaluation of educational technology; these evaluations have the promise to fill in critical information gaps and leverage the potential of new technologies to improve learning. We also present a case study of a new platform, EDUSTAR, conceived by the authors and implemented with a national nonprofit organization. The results from the platform pilot examples reveal several lessons for the future of educational technology.

Jones, Benjamin F and Daniel Campbell. 2014. Mobile Telecommunications: Two Entrepreneurs Enter Africa. Case 5-413-758 (KEL805).

Winner of the 2014 EFMD competition for best African Business case.

In the 1990s, two entrepreneurs made daring, early entries into mobile telecommunications in Sub-Saharan Africa, both seeing great market opportunities there. One firm, Adesemi, would ultimately go bankrupt. The other firm, Celtel, would ultimately succeed and make its founder, Mo Ibrahim, a star of the global business community. Why the difference in outcome? Emerging markets often present weak rule of law, bringing many challenges to business success—from the demand for bribes to regulatory obstacles, hold-up problems, and even civil war. This case explores strategies that can limit these critical non-market risks in foreign direct investment and entrepreneurship. Students will step into the shoes of both companies by exploring their entry strategies, wrestling with the challenges they faced, and diagnosing the reasons why a shared insight about a new business opportunity turned out to be prescient—and led to extremely different endpoints.

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