Sociologist of innovation, industrial policy, and the political economy of high-tech. Studying how states build — and reshape — technology economies.
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
Biography
I am a sociologist specializing in the political economy of industrial policy and innovation, the politics of growth models, and the political foundations of the neoliberal order. I received my Ph.D in Sociology from New York University (2020) and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Tel-Aviv University (2020–2021), and the Martin Buber Society of Fellows, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2021–2023). I joined BGU's Department of Sociology and Anthropology in the Fall of 2023. Recently, I was a visiting researcher at the Institute for Future Studies in Stockholm (2024–25).
Through comparative-historical analysis, my research examined the emergence of the high-tech and venture capital (VC) sectors in Israel, Taiwan, and Ireland. Additionally, I studied the political economy of the Israeli settlements and the relationship between the settlement enterprise and the neoliberal turn. In current research, I study the 'return' of industrial policy in the US and the EU, inclusive innovation, and the politics of the digital health sector in Israel and in Sweden.
My research has been published in leading journals, including Socio-Economic Review, Politics & Society, Regulation & Governance, Competition & Change, Political Geography, and New Political Economy. In addition to academic publishing, my work has been featured in American Affairs, Jacobin, and Le Grand Continent. I am a founding member of the Political Economy and Neo-Liberalism Workshop, which has been active since 2018.
Academic Profile
Position
Faculty, Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, BGU
PhD
Sociology — New York University (NYU)
Postdoc
Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, TAU · Martin Buber Fellows, HUJI
BGU Profile
Twitter / X
ResearchGate
Google Scholar
Core research strands
In this research strand, I have examined the settlement enterprise through the lens of political economy — analyzing how the retreat of the welfare state in Israel proper, the expansion of neoliberal policies, and state investment beyond the green line have shaped and sustained the settlement project and what this reveals about the intersection of economic interests, ideology, and the future of the occupation.
In this research, I have examined how industrial and innovation policies built the Israeli high-tech sector from the ground up, and how subsequent policy shifts fundamentally restructured the sector's composition and relationship to the state, as well as produced significantly different societal outcomes.
How do states promote economic development through targeted public investment in specific industries and sectors — and how do these choices reshape the economy and society over generations is the central question that runs through most of my research. Throughout my work, I draw on comparative political economy to examine the interplay among state actors, employer organizations, and organized labor across countries and historical periods.
In a current research projects, I analyze National Digital Health Programs as instances of contemporary industrial policy. Looking at Israel and Sweden, I examine how states orchestrate public-private collaboration to drive innovation in the health-tech space and what this reveals about contemporary state capacity and the risk–reward nexus.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
First published online June 10, 2026 · Politics & Society
The Return of Industrial Policy and the No-Longer Hidden Developmental State in the United StatesJanuary 2026 · Research Policy 55(2)
Growing up but staying home: Patient equity investors and firm scale-upWith Erez Marantz — Tel Aviv University
July 2025 · Regulation & Governance
Regulating via Conditionality: The Instruments of the New Industrial PolicyWith Fabio Bulfone — Leiden University; Timur Ergen — University of Bremen
March 2024 · Competition & Change 29(2)
Putting wage growth back on the table: Labour incorporation, political exchange, and wage-boosting policies in advanced peripheral economiesWith Assaf Bondy — University of Bristol; Arianna Tassinari — Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
June 2023 · New Political Economy 29(1)
Balancing the Scales: Labour Incorporation and the Politics of Growth Model TransformationWith Assaf Bondy — University of Bristol
January 2022 · Political Geography 92(2)
The metropolitanization of Israel's settlement policy: The colonization of the West Bank as a strategy of spatial restructuringWith Marco Allegra — Universidade de Lisboa
September 2020 · Politics and Society 49(4)
The Politics of Innovation Policy: Building Israel's "Neo-developmental" StateJuly 2018 · Socio-Economic Review 19(2)
Sources of state discipline: lessons from Israel's developmental state, 1948–19732015 · סוציולוגיה ישראלית טז [2]
המדינה, השוק וההתנחלויות: מדיניות משרד הבינוי והשיכון והמעבר מהיאחזות משיחית לפיתוח עירוני בראשית שנות השמוניםWorking Papers & Policy Reports
March 2025 · AI Policy Lab
Towards Successful Industrial Policy on AI in Healthcare: Establishing the Conditions for Future Public BenefitWith Jason Tucker — Umeå University
October 2024 · EconStor
The Political Economy of Conditionality and the New Industrial PolicyWith Fabio Bulfone — Leiden University; Timur Ergen — University of Bremen
16 במרץ 2025 · פורום ארלוזורוב
מה יכולה ישראל ללמוד מהנעשה בעולם בתחום המדיניות התעשייתית החדשה?ד"ר ארז מגור
Book Contributions
2022 · Routledge Handbook on Contemporary Israel (1st Edition, pp. 13)
The Start-Up Nation Myths and RealityWith Michal Frenkel
September 2022 · Routledge Companion to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (pp. 218–233)
The Israeli SettlementsWith Ariel Handel; Marco Allegra — Universidade de Lisboa
January 2017 · Normalizing Occupation (pp. 1–18)
Introduction: The Politics of Everyday Life in the West Bank SettlementsWith Ariel Handel; Marco Allegra — Universidade de Lisboa
January 2017 · Normalizing Occupation
Normalizing Occupation: The Politics of Everyday Life in the West Bank SettlementsWith Ariel Handel; Marco Allegra — Universidade de Lisboa
Edited Volumes & Special Issues
2016 · תיאוריה וביקורת, גיליון 47 — הוצאת מכון ון ליר והוצאת הקיבוץ המאוחד
ההתנחלויות: פרספקטיבות חדשות — עורך גיליון מיוחד2016 · תיאוריה וביקורת, גיליון 47 — הוצאת מכון ון ליר והוצאת הקיבוץ המאוחד
פתח דבר: ההתנחלויות: פרספקטיבות חדשותWith Ariel Handel — מרכז מינרבה למדעי הרוח, אוניברסיטת תל אביב
Additional Publications & Essays
1 ביולי 2019 · הזמן הזה
הוויתור המוקדם של הליכוד על ארץ ישראל השלמה | ארז מגורWinter 2021 · American Affairs (Volume V, Number 4)
Scale-Up Nation: The Role of IP-Transfer Restrictions in Israel's Industrial PolicyBy Erez Maggor — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
14 février 2024 · Le Grand Continent
Comment réussir sa politique industrielle ? Les leçons de la scale-up nation en IsraëlPar Erez Maggor — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
September 11, 2024 · Jacobin
Understanding the Politics of Israel's General StrikeBy Assaf S. Bondy, Erez Maggor & Jonathan Preminger — University of Bristol Business School, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev & Cardiff Business School
15 באוגוסט 2022 · תלם (גיליון 8: הסטארט-אפ והניישן)
היי-טק לעםמאת ארז מגור — אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב
Full list on ResearchGate ↗
כנס מדיניות תעשייתית
כנס צמיחה מכלילה
IIPP Policy Conference
קרן ברל כצנלסון
מכון ון ליר
TheMarker TechNation | עמרי זרחוביץ'
גלובס | הילה ויסברג
דבר ראשון | ארז רביב
TheMarker Magazine | נדן פלדמן
דבר ראשון | הדס יום טוב
קריאת השכמה
עוד פודקאסט לסטארטאפים
קריאת השכמה
ברדיו עם קלצ'קין
עוגן לעתיד | זה באוויר
כאן 11 — תאגיד השידור הישראלי
Education
BA, summa cum laude — Sociology & Anthropology
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
MA, summa cum laude — Sociology & Anthropology
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem · Advisors: Prof. Michael Shalev & Prof. Michal Frenkel
M.Phil — Sociology
New York University
Ph.D — Sociology
New York University · Advisor: Prof. Vivek Chibber
Academic Positions
Lecturer
Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Visiting Researcher
Institute for Future Studies (IFFS), Stockholm, Sweden
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Martin Buber Society of Fellows
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Postdoctoral Fellow — Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
Tel-Aviv University
Selected Awards & Honors
Gender Equity Teaching Award
Ben-Gurion University
Ben Halpern Award for Best Ph.D. Dissertation
Association for Israel Studies (AIS)
Louis Guttman Best Paper Award, First Place
Israeli Sociology Society (ISS)
Early Career Workshop Award
Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE)
GSAS Dean's Dissertation Fellowship
New York University
Israel Institute Doctoral Fellowship
Rector's Prize of Excellence in Master's Studies
Hebrew University
Research Grants
ISF Grant No. 1230/25 — "Inclusive Innovation? The Political Economy of Digital Health Initiatives"
186,716 USD
Selected Publications
Growing up but Staying Home: Patient Equity Investors and Firm Scale-Up
Research Policy 55(2) · IF 8.0, Q1
Regulating via Conditionality: The Instruments of the New Industrial Policy
Regulation & Governance · IF 3.8, Q1, rank 5/444 in Law
Putting Wage Growth Back on the Table: Labour Incorporation, Political Exchange and Wage Boosting Policies
Competition & Change 29(3–4) · IF 3.4, Q1
Balancing the Scales: Labour Incorporation and the Politics of Growth Model Transformation
New Political Economy 29(1) · IF 4.6, Q1
The Metropolitanization of Israel's Settlement Policy
Political Geography 92 · IF 3.66, Q1
The Politics of Innovation Policy: Building Israel's 'Neo-developmental' State
Politics & Society 49(4) · IF 3.09, Q1 · 70 GS citations
Sources of State Discipline: Lessons from Israel's Developmental State, 1948–1973
Socio-Economic Review 19(2) · IF 3.33, Q1 · 25 GS citations
Research in Progress
The Return of Industrial Policy and the No-longer Hidden Developmental State in the US
Politics & Society, Online First
The Political Economy of the 'Return' of Industrial Policy in the US and the EU
In preparation
The Politics of Digital Health Innovation Policy: Israel and Sweden Compared
In preparation
Innovation Nations: The Political Economy of Entrepreneurial States
Book manuscript, in preparation
Professional Activities
Co-founder & Organizer, Political Economy of Neoliberalism (PEN) Workshop
Head of Departmental Ethics Committee, BGU
Member, Research Group on 'Solidarity in Healthcare', Van Leer Institute
Member, Research Group on 'Neoliberalism in Israel', Van Leer Institute
Open to academic collaborations, media inquiries, policy conversations, and anything in between.
Emailemaggor@bgu.ac.il X / Twitter@ErezMaggor LinkedInErez Maggor ResearchGateErez Maggor BGU ProfileOfficial page
