Faculty Bookshelf: Medical Innovation and Government Intervention

A new book edited by Kellogg professors offers timely advice on creating thriving health sectors around the world 

By Shannon Sweetnam

How can we create a more rational approach to healthcare technology and investment? Economists, health industry and biotechnology experts at Kellogg and in Finland have been seeking answers to this question.

Their book, Medical Innovation and Government Intervention (Taloustieto Oy, 2009), explains how to bring innovations to market in a cost-effective way. The book is edited by three Kellogg professors: Joel Shalowitz, director of the Health Industry Management program; Alicia Löffler, director and clinical professor of biotechnology; and Morton Kamien, emeritus professor of economics and decision sciences; as well as by Finnish economists Raine Hermans and Martti Kulvik.

The book is geared toward economists, healthcare policymakers, students, government regulators and others who want to learn more about medical innovation in the United States and abroad. It is the product of several years of cooperation between Kellogg, ETLA (the leading private economic research organization in Finland) and Tekes (the Finnish funding agency for technology and innovation).

The book addresses the complex dynamics of healthcare, assessing the risks inherent in an enforced regulation of an entire industry sector. The major focus is on value creation in general and biotechnology in particular.

"The findings are immediately applicable here in the United States as we begin to look at healthcare reform, because technological innovation is one of the major drivers of cost in the healthcare industry," Shalowitz explains.