Question A:
Given the social and regulatory pressures to keep prices down for drugs and vaccines to treat Covid-19, the financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in such products are below the value of the investment to society.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Question B:
Government commitments to pay developers and manufacturers above average costs for an effective vaccine or drug treatments for Covid-19 would accelerate production.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Question C:
Given the positive externalities from vaccination, an effective Covid-19 vaccine should have priority in public healthcare funding even in countries where other diseases cause more death and disability.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Question A Participant Responses
Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
---|---|---|---|---|
Franklin Allen |
Imperial College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
My understanding is that governments have used their monopsony power to make vaccines marginally profitable. They need to revisit this.
|
||||
Pol Antras |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
It is a valid argument in some cases, but I think the private (long-run) return in this case for pharma firms could actually be quite large
|
||||
Olivier Blanchard |
Peterson Institute | Bio/Vote History | ||
Not sure this is the main factor.
|
||||
Nicholas Bloom |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Richard William Blundell |
University College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Elena Carletti |
Bocconi | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jean-Pierre Danthine |
Paris School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Paul De Grauwe |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Eeckhout |
UPF Barcelona | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Ernst Fehr |
Universität Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Xavier Freixas |
Barcelona GSE | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln |
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jordi Galí |
Barcelona GSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Francesco Giavazzi |
Bocconi | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Rachel Griffith |
University of Manchester | Bio/Vote History | ||
This is true in general for some diseases (and not for others) but I don't think it's true for covid right now.
|
||||
Veronica Guerrieri |
Chicago Booth | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Luigi Guiso |
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Patrick Honohan |
Trinity College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
Besides, not obvious that successful pharma company should capture entire social benefit from vaccine!
|
||||
Beata Javorcik |
University of Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Pieter Krahnen |
Goethe University Frankfurt | Bio/Vote History | ||
There is a trade-off between restricted prices on one side and government assisted, eased market access - and thus: volume on the other side
|
||||
Botond Kőszegi |
Central European University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Eliana La Ferrara |
Harvard Kennedy | Bio/Vote History | ||
The expected numbers are such that even with low expected prices pharmas are currently investing in COVID research already
|
||||
Christian Leuz |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
Generally speaking, I agree. For Covid-19, governments have offered support ex ante to counter this issue and incentivize investment.
|
||||
Thierry Mayer |
Sciences-Po | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Costas Meghir |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Peter Neary |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Kevin O'Rourke |
Oxford | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Marco Pagano |
Università di Napoli Federico II | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Lubos Pastor |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Torsten Persson |
Stockholm University | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Christopher Pissarides |
London School of Economics and Political Science | Bio/Vote History | ||
Given the interest in the vaccine and drugs the one who discovers will make a fortune from the large quantities sold
|
||||
Richard Portes |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Canice Prendergast |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
Depends what motivates the scientists as well as their employers
|
||||
Lucrezia Reichlin |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Rafael Repullo |
CEMFI | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Hélène Rey |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Antoinette Schoar |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
I agree that firms need incentives to produce the vaccine. I dont know the firms' exact cost structure to understand if governments underpay
|
||||
Daniel Sturm |
London School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Van Reenen |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Vickers |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Hans-Joachim Voth |
University of Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Beatrice Weder di Mauro |
The Graduate Institute, Geneva | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Karl Whelan |
University College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
Other factors also matter such as uncertainty as to which vaccine will end up working and how the vaccination process will work in practice.
|
||||
Charles Wyplosz |
The Graduate Institute Geneva | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Fabrizio Zilibotti |
Yale University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
Question B Participant Responses
Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
---|---|---|---|---|
Franklin Allen |
Imperial College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
Key area going forward. Bioterrorism possibilities mean we need to stockpile many vaccines such as Ebola, Smapppox and so forth.
|
||||
Pol Antras |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
Though how much, I am less sure.
|
||||
Olivier Blanchard |
Peterson Institute | Bio/Vote History | ||
but again, high risk may be more of a constraint.
|
||||
Nicholas Bloom |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Richard William Blundell |
University College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Elena Carletti |
Bocconi | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jean-Pierre Danthine |
Paris School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Paul De Grauwe |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Eeckhout |
UPF Barcelona | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Ernst Fehr |
Universität Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Xavier Freixas |
Barcelona GSE | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln |
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jordi Galí |
Barcelona GSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Francesco Giavazzi |
Bocconi | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Rachel Griffith |
University of Manchester | Bio/Vote History | ||
I do not think that financial incentives are the main issue right now.
|
||||
Veronica Guerrieri |
Chicago Booth | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Luigi Guiso |
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Patrick Honohan |
Trinity College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
Not likely to be a particularly effective mechanism: "a bit above breakeven" will not provide much incentive
|
||||
Beata Javorcik |
University of Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Pieter Krahnen |
Goethe University Frankfurt | Bio/Vote History | ||
Higher rents leads to higher competition among producers, increased politcal lobbying - and hence slower decision and production processes.
|
||||
Botond Kőszegi |
Central European University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Eliana La Ferrara |
Harvard Kennedy | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Christian Leuz |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
Largely implied by answer to earlier question, but in case of Covid & at this stage, I am not sure much can be done to accelerate further.
|
||||
Thierry Mayer |
Sciences-Po | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Costas Meghir |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Peter Neary |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Kevin O'Rourke |
Oxford | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Marco Pagano |
Università di Napoli Federico II | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Lubos Pastor |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Torsten Persson |
Stockholm University | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Christopher Pissarides |
London School of Economics and Political Science | Bio/Vote History | ||
Profit maximizing!
|
||||
Richard Portes |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Canice Prendergast |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Lucrezia Reichlin |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Rafael Repullo |
CEMFI | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Hélène Rey |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Antoinette Schoar |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Daniel Sturm |
London School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Van Reenen |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Vickers |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Hans-Joachim Voth |
University of Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
Governments have to share some of the risk by paying for fixed costs
|
||||
Beatrice Weder di Mauro |
The Graduate Institute, Geneva | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Karl Whelan |
University College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Charles Wyplosz |
The Graduate Institute Geneva | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Fabrizio Zilibotti |
Yale University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
Question C Participant Responses
Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
---|---|---|---|---|
Franklin Allen |
Imperial College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
Covid-19 vaccination should be partially paid for by rich countries to deal with the externality issue.
|
||||
Pol Antras |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Olivier Blanchard |
Peterson Institute | Bio/Vote History | ||
as a matter of logic: what about other vaccines? as a matter of fact: should have high priority
|
||||
Nicholas Bloom |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Richard William Blundell |
University College London | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Elena Carletti |
Bocconi | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jean-Pierre Danthine |
Paris School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Paul De Grauwe |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Eeckhout |
UPF Barcelona | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Ernst Fehr |
Universität Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Xavier Freixas |
Barcelona GSE | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln |
Goethe-Universität Frankfurt | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Jordi Galí |
Barcelona GSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Francesco Giavazzi |
Bocconi | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Rachel Griffith |
University of Manchester | Bio/Vote History | ||
However, there are other diseases that also have big externalities that might have larger impacts.
|
||||
Veronica Guerrieri |
Chicago Booth | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Luigi Guiso |
Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Patrick Honohan |
Trinity College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
International externalities require global financing; low income countries cannot afford to divert limited public health funding.
|
||||
Beata Javorcik |
University of Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jan Pieter Krahnen |
Goethe University Frankfurt | Bio/Vote History | ||
What matters in this decision problem is the extent to which drugs have externalities - Covid drugs may or may not excel on this metric.
|
||||
Botond Kőszegi |
Central European University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Eliana La Ferrara |
Harvard Kennedy | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Christian Leuz |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
Would agree for advanced economies, not clear developing ctrys should spend on Covid vaccine, rather than other diseases.
|
||||
Thierry Mayer |
Sciences-Po | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Costas Meghir |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Peter Neary |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
Switching funding away from existing programs may not be wise in all cases. Extra funding should be targeted to a vaccination program
|
||||
Kevin O'Rourke |
Oxford | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Marco Pagano |
Università di Napoli Federico II | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Lubos Pastor |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Torsten Persson |
Stockholm University | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Christopher Pissarides |
London School of Economics and Political Science | Bio/Vote History | ||
not sure about the "even in countries..."
|
||||
Richard Portes |
London Business School | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Canice Prendergast |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Lucrezia Reichlin |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Rafael Repullo |
CEMFI | Bio/Vote History | ||
One has to take into account the economic consequences of confinements.
|
||||
Hélène Rey |
London Business School | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Antoinette Schoar |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
in some countries diseases like measles kill more people esp kids (more contagious). might be better to invest in a known vaccine than covid
-see background information here |
||||
Daniel Sturm |
London School of Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Van Reenen |
LSE | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
John Vickers |
Oxford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Hans-Joachim Voth |
University of Zurich | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Beatrice Weder di Mauro |
The Graduate Institute, Geneva | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Karl Whelan |
University College Dublin | Bio/Vote History | ||
I don't think this is true everywhere. Governments in advanced economies should invest in developing (and then sharing) a vaccine.
|
||||
Charles Wyplosz |
The Graduate Institute Geneva | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Fabrizio Zilibotti |
Yale University | Bio/Vote History | ||
|