Paul Allan David (May 24, 1935 – January 23, 2023) was an American academic economist, noted for his work on the economics of scientific progress and technical change.

[10][11][12] David's work focused on the history of technological change and its economic impact.

He wrote several papers and books on this topic, including "Clio and the Economics of QWERTY" (1985), "The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox" (1990), and Path Dependence, Its Critics and the Quest for Historical Economics (1997).

[16][5] His studies also covered disparate topics including nuclear power plants, migration, slavery, birth control, and government interventions in the economy.

[5] In 2006, Edward Elgar published a festschrift called New Frontiers in the Economics of Innovation and New Technology: Essays in Honour of Paul A.