Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcasts
  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Cold Call Podcast
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Private and Social Returns to R&D: Drug Development and Demographics
      22 Feb 2021Working Paper Summaries

      Private and Social Returns to R&D: Drug Development and Demographics

      by Efraim Benmelech, Janice Eberly, Dimitris Papanikolaou, and Joshua Krieger
      Research and development (R&D) by pharmaceutical firms focuses disproportionately on medical conditions afflicting the elderly. The proportion of R&D spending targeting older age groups is increasing over time. Even though these investments in R&D prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life, they have little effect on measured productivity and output growth.
      LinkedIn
      Email

      Author Abstract

      Investment in intangible capital—in particular, research and development—increased dramatically since the 1990s. However, output and measured productivity growth remains sluggish in recent years. One potential reason is that a significant share of the increase in intangible investment is geared toward consumer products such as pharmaceutical drugs that are not included in measured economic output. We document that a significant fraction of total R&D spending in the U.S. economy is done by pharmaceutical firms and is geared to developing drugs for the elderly. Increased life expectancy among the elderly increases welfare, but is not reflected in estimates of total factor productivity.

      Paper Information

      • Full Working Paper Text
      • Working Paper Publication Date: January 2021
      • HBS Working Paper Number: 21-083
      • Faculty Unit(s): Entrepreneurial Management
        Trending
          • 25 Feb 2019
          • Research & Ideas

          How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

          • 17 May 2017
          • Research & Ideas

          Minorities Who 'Whiten' Job Resumes Get More Interviews

          • 24 Feb 2021
          • Lessons from the Classroom

          What History's Biggest Wars Teach Us About Leading in Peace

          • 17 Aug 2020
          • Research & Ideas

          What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

          • 17 Feb 2021
          • Research & Ideas

          Pandemic Self-Care for CEOs: Rituals, Running, and Cognitive Restructuring

      Joshua Lev Krieger
      Joshua Lev Krieger
      Assistant Professor of Business Administration
      Contact
      Send an email
      → More Articles
      Find Related Articles
      • Research and Development
      • Innovation and Invention
      • Health Care and Treatment
      • Pharmaceutical

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter

      Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
      ǁ
      Campus Map
      Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
      Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
      Soldiers Field
      Boston, MA 02163
      Email: Editor-in-Chief
      →Map & Directions
      →More Contact Information
      • Make a Gift
      • Site Map
      • Jobs
      • Harvard University
      • Trademarks
      • Policies
      • Digital Accessibility
      Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College