Andrew Toole

Chief Economist

Andrew Toole is the Chief Economist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and a Research Associate at the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW). Dr. Toole joined the USPTO with experience in the private sector, academia, and government. While completing his Ph.D. in economics at Michigan State University, Andrew Toole was a Senior Economist for Laurits R. Christensen Associates where he conducted studies on total factor productivity, cost and price analysis, and competitive strategy. In 1998, Dr. Toole went to Stanford University as a postdoctoral student before becoming a faculty member at Illinois State University and Rutgers University in New Jersey. As an academic researcher, Dr. Toole was asked to advise on science and technology policy issues for institutions such as the U.S. National Academies of Science, U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2010, he joined the Science Policy Branch of USDA’s Economic Research Service. His research focuses on the economics of innovation, intellectual property, and related science and technology policies. Dr. Toole has published in the Journal of Law and Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, Research Policy, Management Science, and many other peer-reviewed journals.