The NYT has another good piece documenting the abuses of the patent system for financing prescription drug research. Patent monopolies increase our annual drug expenditures by at least $150 billion a year compared to a situation in which drugs were sold at free market prices. If economics was a serious profession there would be a large body of research comparing the efficiency of patent supported research with alternatives such as prize funds or direct government funding. As it is, economists only worry about protection on shoes and shirts. Here's my two cents.
--Dean Baker
