Eli Dourado

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Eli Dourado

  • Research Fellow

Eli Dourado is a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University with the Technology Policy Program. His research focuses on Internet governance, the economics of technology, and political economy. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Stephanie Dourado.

Prior to joining Mercatus, Eli worked at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds a BA in economics and political science from Furman University and is a PhD candidate in economics at George Mason University.

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Working Papers

Do High International Telecom Rates Buy Telecom Sector Growth?

Eli Dourado | Nov 30, 2012
The possible extension of the telephone system’s “sender-pays” rule to the Internet is a contentious international political issue under consideration at the World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT). This paper examines whether higher international telephone rates support or impede telecom sector growth in the receiving country. It uses data on international telephone rates from the US from 1992-2010 to explain growth in foreign telecom sectors during the same period.

Internet Security Without Law: How Service Providers Create Order Online

Eli Dourado | Jun 19, 2012
ISPs have borne significant costs to reduce malware, despite their lack of formal legal liability. Informal institutions perform much better than a regime of formal indirect liability. The fact that legal polycentricity is more widespread than is often recognized should affect law and economics scholarship.

Is There a Cybersecurity Market Failure

Eli Dourado | Jan 23, 2012
This paper finds that alleged cybersecurity market failures are, at a minimum, much smaller than they first appear and, consequently, that attempts to correct them through naive government regulation run the serious risk of doing more harm than good.

Policy Briefs

Is There a Market Failure In Cybersecurity?

Eli Dourado, Jerry Brito | Mar 06, 2012
Like gardens, the Internet developed without government intervention. Unnecessary regulation could break down the norms and practices that caused the Internet flourish in the first place.

Testimony & Comments

Federal Aviation Administration: Unmanned Aircraft System Test Site Program

Jerry Brito, Eli Dourado, Adam Thierer | Apr 23, 2013
In analyzing the proposed policies being developed to carry out Congress’s mandate, it is important to remember that the purpose of the mandate is to open America’s skies to commercial UAS use in order to reap the social benefits that such use will bring.

Media Clippings

A World Government for the Internet?

Jerry Brito, Eli Dourado | Dec 04, 2012
Outlet: Discovery News

Stop UN Regulation of the Internet

Jerry Brito, Eli Dourado | Oct 10, 2012
Outlet: The Hill

Eli Dourado on Kinetic Computing and the Case for Economic Optimism

Eli Dourado | Oct 10, 2012
Outlet: National Review Online

NGDP in the Long Run and Economic Plasticity

Tyler Cowen, Eli Dourado | Sep 28, 2012
Outlet: Forbes
More Media Clippings

Expert Commentary

Five Reasons to Keep Government Out of Internet Governance

U.S. News and World Report
By Eli Dourado |
May 13, 2013

Starting on May 14, the International Telecommunication Union – an agency of the United Nations – is kicking off a meeting for governments and telecom companies to discuss "international Internet-related public policy matters." Up for debate are six draft opinions on various aspects of Internet policy, but the unifying question is: how much should governments (and intergovernmental organizations) involve themselves in the building and running of the Internet? Under the current system, governments do very little – and the Internet has flourished because of it.

Deregulate the Skies: Why We Can’t Afford to Fear Drones

Wired
By Eli Dourado |
Apr 23, 2013

The most important lesson of the internet age is that we can’t anticipate what will happen when we give people — from talented engineers and developers to everyday users — an exciting new platform … along with the freedom to innovate on top of it.

It's Time To Deal With Patent 'Trolls'

U.S. News and World Report
By Eli Dourado |
Mar 19, 2013

While the SHIELD Act may provide some modest relief for Silicon Valley firms against spurious lawsuits, it doesn't solve the real problem that the Valley and other industries have—that patents do more harm than good in their particular area of innovation.

Behind Closed Doors at the UN’s Attempted “Takeover of the Internet”

Ars Technica
By Eli Dourado |
Dec 20, 2012

Can the ITU and its member states truly embrace transparent processes? Perhaps—but there’s a long way to go. And the future direction of the Internet could be at stake.
More Expert Commentary

Research Areas

Broadband Regulation, Cybersecurity, Tech Policy

Videos

The U.N. and the Internet: Previewing the World Conference on International Telecommunication

Eli Dourado, Jerry Brito, Paul Brigner, Gary Fowlie, Milton L. Mueller, Terry D. Kramer | November 14, 2012

Are There Legitimate Reasons Why Data Caps Exist?

Eli Dourado | May 04, 2012

Hackers, Terrorists, and Rogue States: What Do They Mean for American Cybersecurity?

Jerry Brito, Eli Dourado | April 12, 2012
More Videos

Podcasts

Hackers, Terrorists, and Rogue States: What Do They Mean for American Cybersecurity?

Jerry Brito, Eli Dourado | April 12, 2012
What exactly does cybersecurity entail? An issue this large encompasses many elements: what is the real threat? What is its scope? Who is at risk? Who is the most suited to defend against the threat? Professor Jerry Brito and Eli Dourado address these questions.
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