Dan studies the economics of innovation and technological change, but his liberal arts curiosity causes him to pursue other research interests as well. Recent published work includes an edited volume on agricultural productivity and peer-reviewed articles on the importance of physical location and social networks for innovators, the impact of pharmaceutical patents on health care costs, patterns in philanthropic giving to higher education, the explanation of adoption patterns for new voting equipment after the 2000 federal elections, the optimization of microloans by Grameen in the Philippines, and the long-term retention of economics principles by undergraduate students. Forthcoming work studies the effects of patent law on productivity growth, the impact of big-box stores on residential property values, the relationship between trade and innovation, and how energy prices affect innovation in natural resource extraction sectors. He is still predicting Olympic medal counts with surprising accuracy.