Glenn MacDonald


John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and Strategy

Glenn MacDonald

Glenn MacDonald


Prior to join Olin, Professor MacDonald was Professor of Economics and Management at the University of Rochester’s W. E. Simon Graduate School of Business, and Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario. He has extensive experience, including consulting, mentoring and informal advising, and student projects. He has worked with startups, e.g., eMastered.com, RECORDS and DigitalMint, nonprofits, e.g. United Way and USOC, and large entities, e.g., MasterCard, LionsGate, Citibank, Universal Music Group and Nike.

Area of Expertise


Business/Corporate Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Innovation and Growth, Technology Management, Diversity, Human Resource Management/Industrial Relations, Organizational Change and Development

Education


  • Ph D 1979, University of Rochester
  • MA 1978, University of Rochester
  • BA 1975, York University

Academic/Professional Activities


  • Referee, Journal of Political Economy, Econometrica, American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Business, Bell Journal of Economics, Rand Journal of Economics, National Science Foundation, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, International Journal of Industrial Organization, Journal of Macroeconomics, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Management Science, Strategic Management Journal
  • Editor, Senior Editor, Journal of Labor Economics, 1992-2001; Associate Editor, 1982-1992; Associate Editor, Management Science, 2006-present
  • Editor, Editor of Special Issue, Journal of Accounting and Economics

Teaching Interests


Microeconomic theory, game theory, general equilibrium, economic dynamics, labor economics, econometrics, advanced organization theory, advanced topics in organization of industry
MBA: Market competition and value appropriation, data analysis and forecasting, projects
Undergraduate: Principles of economics, market competition and value appropriation, microeconomic theory, econometrics, labor economics, research seminar

Research Interests


Industry Evolution, Strategy and Value Appropriation, Microeconomics/Industrial Organization, Investor Protection, and Compensation.

Personal Interests


Glenn MacDonald is married, with two children. He enjoys music, creative activities generally, and cooking. For fun he does yoga, teaches fencing, composes & produces electronic music, plays guitar & DJs.

Selected Publications


  • "How do value creation and competition determine whether a firm appropriates value?", Management Science, 1319-1333, with Michael Ryall, 2004
  • "Investor Protection, optimal incentives and economic growth", Quarterly Journal of Economics, with Rui Castro, Gian Clementi, 2004
  • "The economics of has-beens", Journal of Political Economy, S289-S310, with Michael Weisbach, 2004
  • "Adverse Specialization", Journal of Political Economy, 864-899, with Leslie Marx, 2001
  • "Competitive Diffusion", Journal of Political Economy, with Boyan Jovanovic, 1994
  • "The life cycle of a competitive industry", Journal of Political Economy, 322-347, with Boyan Jovanovic, 1994
  • "Do new entrants sustain, destroy or create guaranteed profitability?", Strategic Management Journal, Issue 6, 1630-1649, with Michael Ryall, 2018
  • "The Economics of super managers", Review of Financial Studies, with Nina Baranchuk, Jun Yang, 2011
  • "Legal Institutions, Sectoral Heterogeneity, and Economic Development", Review of Economic Studies, 529-561, with Rui Castro, Gian Clementi, 2009