He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the economics of innovation and growth. Together with Peter Howitt, he pioneered
the Schumpeterian Growth Theory, a leading paradigm for analyzing the interplay between growth, innovation, market structure, and firm dynamics.

Much of his work is summarized in their joint books Endogenous Growth Theory (MIT Press, 1998) and The Economics of Growth (MIT Press, 2009), as well as in his book with Rachel Griffith, Competition and Growth (MIT Press, 2006). Additional contributions can be found in his survey What Do We Learn from Schumpeterian Growth Theory (co-authored with U. Akcigit and
P. Howitt), and more recently in The Power of Creative Destruction (co-authored with C. Antonin and
S. Bunel).