Andrew A. Toole, PhD — Consulting Services

About

Andrew A. Toole, PhD, is an economist specializing in innovation, intellectual property, technical change, and market performance. He served as Chief Economist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 2018 to 2025, and previously as USPTO Deputy Chief Economist (2015–2018) and Evaluation Officer (2020–2025). In these roles he led the agency's economic research program, built and published the major USPTO datasets now used across industry and academia, and advised senior leadership on evidence-based patent, trademark, and innovation policy.

Dr. Toole holds a PhD and MA in economics from Michigan State University and a BA in economics from Kalamazoo College. He was a Research Associate at Stanford University's Institute for Economic Policy Research, held tenure-track faculty positions at Rutgers University and Illinois State University, was a Lecturer in the Applied Economics program at Johns Hopkins University, and served as Research Associate at ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (2008–2025).

His research has been published in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Law and Economics, Management Science, European Economic Review, Research Policy, and Nature Biotechnology, among others.

Areas of Expertise

Patent and trademark economics, policy, examination outcomes, and analytics
R&D investment, innovation incentives, and intellectual property strategy
Artificial intelligence and emerging technology measurement using patent data
University–industry technology transfer and academic entrepreneurship
Gender, diversity, and inclusion in invention and patenting
Science and technology policy, program evaluation, and impact assessment
Causal inference (RCTs, difference-in-differences, instrumental variables), applied econometrics, and machine learning for measurement

Professional Experience

Chief Economist, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — 2018–2025
Evaluation Officer, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — 2020–2025
Deputy Chief Economist, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — 2015–2018
Research Economist, USDA Economic Research Service, Science Policy Branch — 2010–2015
Research Associate, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research — 2008–2025
Lecturer, Applied Economics Program, Johns Hopkins University — 2014–2015
Faculty Fellow, Irwin Lerner Center for Pharmaceutical Studies, Rutgers University — 2007–2010
Assistant Professor of Economics, Rutgers University — 2003–2010
Assistant Professor of Economics, Illinois State University — 2001–2003
Research Associate, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University — 1998–2001

Selected Publications

“Closing the gender gap in patenting: Evidence from a randomized control trial at the USPTO,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2025.
“Patent eligibility after Alice: Evidence from USPTO patent examination,” Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2024.
“Discovering value: women's participation in university and commercial AI invention,” Nature Biotechnology, 2024.
“The artificial intelligence patent dataset (AIPD) 2023 update,” Journal of Technology Transfer, 2025.
“Knowledge Creates Markets: The Influence of Entrepreneurial Support and Patent Rights on Academic Entrepreneurship,” European Economic Review, 2016.
“Patent Protection, Market Uncertainty, and R&D Investment,” Review of Economics and Statistics, 2011.
“Does Public Scientific Research Complement Private Investment in R&D in the Pharmaceutical Industry?” Journal of Law & Economics, 2007.
“Commercializing Science: Is there a University ‘Brain Drain’ from Academic Entrepreneurship?” Management Science, 2010.
“The Impact of Public Basic Research on Industrial Innovation: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry,” Research Policy, 2012.

Selected USPTO Reports & Policy Work

National Strategy for Inclusive Innovation (USPTO, 2024)
Privatizing the Space Economy: A Perspective Based on Patents (USPTO, 2025)
Diagnosing COVID-19: A Perspective from U.S. Patenting Activity (USPTO, 2023)
Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy (USPTO, 2022)
Inventing AI: Tracing the Diffusion of AI in U.S. Patents (USPTO, 2020)
Progress and Potential: U.S. Women Inventor-Patentees (USPTO, 2019 & 2020 updates)
Adjusting to Alice: USPTO Patent Examination Outcomes after Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l (USPTO, 2020)
Report to Congress pursuant to the SUCCESS Act (USPTO, 2019)
Co-editor, Resilience and Ingenuity: Global Innovation Responses to Covid-19 (CEPR Press, 2022)

Honors & Recognition

Academy of Management Best Paper Awards — 2022 (two papers)
U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Award — 2021
USPTO Director's Awards — 2020, 2021, 2023
USPTO Finalist for Supervisor of the Year — 2017
USDA Economic Research Service Performance Award and Award of Excellence — 2014
Best Paper Award, International Journal of the Economics of Business — 2019
Associate Editor, Journal of Technology Transfer (2017–present)

Consulting Services

Dr. Toole is available for selected consulting engagements, including:

Expert economic analysis and expert witness work on patent, trademark, and innovation matters
Program evaluation and impact studies for government agencies, foundations, and research institutions
Design and analysis of randomized and quasi-experimental studies in IP and innovation policy
Strategic advising on R&D programs, technology transfer, and AI / emerging-technology measurement
Custom patent and trademark data analytics, including applications of machine learning
Invited briefings, workshops, and keynote presentations