Academic Life Is Not a Sacrifice, but It's a Subtle Corrosion of Values

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Academic life is dramatically more lucrative than it was in say, 1950 or 1960. You can really make a lot of money as an academic. The grant system from the government rewards people who play by the rules rather than seek the truth. But I think anybody who does courageous science, it's going to ruffle some feathers.

Oncologist and epidemiologist Vinay Prasad argues that too many very expensive drugs get approved by the FDA that have very limited impact on the lives of patients. Prasad explains the incentives that distort the current system. The general problem, he explains to EconTalk host Russ Roberts, is the death of duty--too many players in the health care landscape and elsewhere stay quiet or do the wrong thing in order to serve themselves.