Government regulation is supposed to make products safer. But new research shows that, at least for medical devices, regulation can have the opposite effect.
In a paper published this past November, UC San Diego economist Parker Rogers found that when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reduces regulation on a category of products, innovation and competition in that category increase, prices decrease, and safety actually improves.
How could this be? Rogers hypothesized that firms “increas[e] their emphasis on product safety as deregulation exposes them to more litigation.”
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Deregulating Medical Devices Will Increase Innovation and Safety
Sally C. Pipes
Government regulation is supposed to make products safer. But new research shows that, at least for medical devices, regulation can have the opposite effect.
In a paper published this past November, UC San Diego economist Parker Rogers found that when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reduces regulation on a category of products, innovation and competition in that category increase, prices decrease, and safety actually improves.
How could this be? Rogers hypothesized that firms “increas[e] their emphasis on product safety as deregulation exposes them to more litigation.”
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.