Miscellaneous
Alex Tabarrok joins Anirudh Burman to discuss if the existing law on patents is affecting India’s ability to vaccinate its citizens. As India battles a devastating second wave of Covid-19, many advocate for a waiver of intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines. However, some argue that this might be an incomplete solution; on its own, a TRIPS waiver would do little to alleviate the problem. In this episode, we understand the logic behind the proposal for the TRIPS waiver, and what must be done to globally increase vaccine supplies. Alex Tabarrok holds the Bartley J. Madden Chair in Economics at the Mercatus Center and is a professor of economics at George Mason University. Anirudh Burman is an associate fellow at Carnegie India. References:Patents are Not the Problem! by Alex TabarrokPatent Theory versus Patent Law by Alex TabarrokTo Help India, Biden Must Unclog the Vaccine Supply Chains by Rudra ChaudhuriWhat Is Happening to India’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program? by Arjun Kang Joseph