The Effect of the Opioid Crisis on Patenting
Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2023
We exploit the differences in Purdue Pharma’s marketing infrastructures prior to the introduction of Oxycontin in 1996 to examine whether areas most exposed to the opioid epidemic experienced differences in numbers of inventors and patent applications. Using patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we show a negative effect of opioid prescriptions on the amount of patenting that occurs in a county. Despite inventive activities being hampered by the negative economic effects that opioid misuse creates in an area, we also find evidence that the opioid crisis incentivizes inventors to relocate. Similarly, we find a reduction in the number of high-tech firms and STEM graduates.
Cohle, Zachary, and Alberto Ortega. “The effect of the opioid crisis on patenting.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 214 (2023): 493-521.