Wall Street Journal Letter to the Editor

The Economy and Long-Term Common Weal

It’s true that pollution taxes would be set at arbitrary, politically-driven levels rather than being market driven. But so are our current income-tax rates and energy policies.

Mr. Henderson notes Paul M. Romer’s ideas relating the structure of incentives to innovation using the profoundly crucial role patent policy has played in pharmaceutical innovation. But in the 21st century governments have countered the otherwise positive impact of patents with all manner of pharmaceutical price controls. This is no more dramatic than in Japan, which has solid patent policy but counters the effects by controlling prices that would otherwise allow market returns to be put back into innovation.

With its super-aging society—80-plus is its fastest-growing demographic—one might expect Japan to employ Mr. Romer’s calculations for the right incentive structure regarding both patent and pricing policy for the pharmaceutical innovation it needs. If healthier aging through innovation is a solution for Japan’s demographic age challenges, Mr. Romer’s insights would teach that public-policy controls on funding of that innovation is detrimental to its long-term economic needs.

Michael W. Hodin
CEO, Global Coalition on Aging
New York

Source: Wall Street Journal

Latest Developments

We keep our members and partners in touch with the most recent updates and opinions in the worldwide dialogue on population longevity and related issues.

2024 AMR Preparedness Index Progress Report Highlights Urgent Need For Global Action Against Antimicrobial Resistance

Today, the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched the 2024 AMR Preparedness Index Progress Report. Released in the lead up to the United Nations General Assembly 2024 High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) this September, the 2024 Progress Report assesses how the eleven largest global economies have advanced on calls to action laid out in the 2021 AMR Preparedness Index.

New Global Analysis Across Five Cities Shows Inequities in Adult Immunization Uptake, Signaling Need to Redesign Local and National Policy Interventions

GSK, in collaboration with the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA), announced a new report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science (IQVIA Institute). The report, funded by GSK, explores the role of social and structural determinants of health in adult vaccine access and uptake across five global cities with strong data about their aging populations: Bangkok, Thailand; Brussels, Belgium; Chicago, US; Manchester, United Kingdom; and New York City, US.

New Report From the Global Coalition on Aging Highlights the Connection Between Adult Immunization and Economic Health in Aging APEC Region

As leaders from across the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region convene in San Francisco over the next week, a new report from the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) points to investments in healthy aging as a growing economic imperative amid the region’s changing demographics. According to the new report, programs that keep populations healthy, active, and productive – like adult immunization – are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for economic stability and growth.

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Best Practices for Engaging a Multigenerational Workforce

Employers are grappling with a myriad of workforce-related issues ranging from productivity to attracting and retaining talent, but many may be overlooking some seismic shifts that are reshaping the future of work: longevity, population aging, and the multigenerational workforce.

Brazil Must Fight Antibiotic Resistance

The threat posed by antimicrobial resistance is urgent and spares no country - including Brazil. According to The Lancet, 63 deaths per 100,000 are associated with AMR in Brazil and Paraguay, a rate that exceeds the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. AMR-associated deaths in Brazil are second only to cardiovascular diseases and cancers.