The Consequences of the FDA's New Mandatory

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The new mandate of the FDA is costing prescription drug consumers on average about 5 or 10% of their spending. The complaint about the FDA among economists is they just take too long. They approve a lot of drugs that are quote effective but only marginally more effective than the existing drugs on the market and thereby maintain the profits of the industry with very, very, very small benefits in terms of health.

When there's no vaccine on the market, people will look for other ways to be safe, including school closures and the handwashing of groceries. Listen as economist Casey Mulligan of the University Chicago talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts about the costs of delaying a vaccine, the hidden costs of FDA regulation, and what we learned and failed to learn about the Covid pandemic.