Online Program

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Tuesday, January 7
Tue, Jan 7, 2:00 PM - 3:45 PM
West Coast Ballroom
Advances in Health Economics

Wartime Procurement and the Direction of Prosthetic Device Innovation (with Jeffrey Clemens) (308064)

Presentation

*Parker Rogers, UC San Diego 

We analyze how demand shocks linked to the Civil War and World War I shaped the volume and direction of prosthetic device innovation. By analyzing patent texts, we develop new data describing the economic characteristics of contemporaneous prosthetic devices, other medical, and mechanical inventions. Our first empirical finding is that there were substantial increases in the volume of prosthetic device patents during both the Civil War and World War I. Second, relative to patents in other medical and mechanical categories, prosthetic device patents exhibited an increased emphasis on traits that facilitate low-cost mass production during both wars. Third, the Civil War led inventors to improve a broad set of attributes related to the production process, while World War I did not. Fourth, the prosthetic device patents from the Civil War and World War I eras diverged with respect to their consumer-facing characteristics. Specifically, Civil War era prosthetic device patents exhibit an increased emphasis on comfort, while World War I era prosthetic device patents de-emphasized comfort and exhibit an increased emphasis on appearance. The emphases of inventors on particular economic characteristics were driven, at least in part, by approval and procurement procedures. To the extent that approval and procurement procedures introduce or combat distortions, they may thus shape the social gains from medical innovation.