Slate Money – "Patent Races and Racism"

Date: March 20, 2021
Host: Felix Salmon (A), with Emily Peck (C)
Guest: Dr. Lisa D. Cook, Professor of Economics and International Relations at Michigan State University (B)

Overview

This episode explores the intersections of innovation, intellectual property, and systemic racism with economic effects felt across society. Guest Dr. Lisa Cook shares her research and perspectives on how historical and contemporary barriers to patenting hinder both individual opportunity and broad economic growth. The group also unpacks live topics like COVID-19 vaccine patents, global supply chain vulnerabilities, gender inequity in innovation during the pandemic, and the complicated future of the US patent system. The conversation is wide-ranging, rigorous, and lively.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Racism Damages the Whole Economy

[02:25–04:28]

• Lisa Cook’s New York Times piece, "Racism Impoverishes the Whole Economy," and her 2014 research showed that violence against African Americans (1870–1940) suppressed Black innovation and patenting more than it did for whites.
• Quote [02:40]: “We lost the equivalent of a medium sized European country's patents to this kind of violence.” — Lisa Cook
• The loss isn’t just personal or communal—it deprives the entire US economy of innovation, investment, and technological advancement.

[04:19]

• The net effect: The US economy as a whole misses out, because potential inventions and patents never materialized.

2. The Human Stories Behind Patents and Prejudice

[05:13–06:36]

• Cook recounts the story of her cousin-in-law, Percy Julian, a pioneering Black chemist whose house was firebombed while he competed in the international “cortisone race.” Despite ultimately succeeding, he and his family endured significant threats:

  • Quote [05:54]: “It wasn't as if being an inventor... meant you were untouchable... there could have been serious consequences—there were serious consequences.” — Lisa Cook

• Winning patents isn’t just about profit; it’s about scientific prestige and, for marginalized inventors, often literal survival.

3. Comparative Advantage and Stifled Potential

[08:53–10:45]

• When systemic biases keep qualified individuals (doctors, inventors) from contributing, everyone loses.

• Cook uses the COVID-19 vaccine race as illustration: what if only half the talented epidemiologists could actually contribute?

  • Quote [09:52]: “We would have gotten to half the vaccines in this... maybe even shorter time.” — Lisa Cook

• Diversity and inclusivity in science catalyze faster breakthroughs and raise living standards for all.

4. Global Vaccine Patents: Public Good vs Profits

[11:10–16:22]

• Discussion dives into current debates over COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property: should patent protections be set aside in emergencies?

• Quote [14:02]: “If it were just for profit maximization, we would be in trouble because this is a pandemic, it's an emergency, it's a public good that should be provided.” — Lisa Cook

• The licensing of Oxford’s vaccine to both AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India is cited as a model—enabled because Oxford, as a public university, made deliberate choices not all companies would have.

• Cook: full openness is complicated—“We don't know how all of this is going to work out. There are many problems with the rollout that have nothing to do with IP.” [14:40]

5. The Critical Importance of Transparency and Preparation

[17:28–19:32]

• Contracts between governments and pharma companies are often secret, which undermines trust and efficiency.
• The pandemic exposed a lack of preparedness: from gutted pandemic units to insufficient PPE supplies and lack of advance planning, lessons must be learned for the next crisis.
  • Quote [18:23]: “We've got to believe that a crisis is always around the corner and prepare for that crisis.” — Lisa Cook

6. Pandemic Innovation vs. Setbacks for Women

[20:22–24:28]

• While the pandemic prompted unprecedentedly rapid vaccine development, it also sidelined many women and caregivers—likely leading to long-term impacts on innovation and gender equity.
• Quote [21:17]: “Labor force participation rates for women [are] where they were in 1987. We've lost 30 years overnight.” — Lisa Cook
• Return to the workforce, career interruptions, and missed opportunities for publication and promotion disproportionately impacted women, especially in academia and essential work.

7. Global Competition & The US Innovation Ecosystem

[24:28–27:19]

• The US, unlike China, did not keep its economy fully open during the pandemic; some fear this gives China a critical head start.
• Cook asserts that openness is essential for innovation; a limited society (e.g. with heavy industrial espionage) faces other limits.
• Outsourcing of key manufacturing (e.g., chips) creates strategic vulnerabilities and exposes the need for supply-chain resilience.

8. Deindustrialization, Labor, and Shareholder Value

[28:16–32:42]

• US companies offshored chip and other manufacturing due to short-term focus on minimizing labor costs, neglecting resilience and strategic needs.
• Quote [28:16]: “We were chasing lower labor costs... what we weren't planning for is something like a pandemic.” — Lisa Cook
• Weakening of unions and single-minded pursuit of maximizing shareholder value contributed to a loss of US productive capacity.

9. Pandemic Widened Gender Inequities

[32:44–38:00]

• Despite men also leaving the workforce, women bore more of the domestic and caregiving burden—the “shecession.”

• The impact extends beyond temporary job loss to skills atrophy, career regression, and increased dependency.

• Quote [33:13]: “Women are more responsible for childcare and for household activities. Those activities aren't being shared.” — Lisa Cook

• Unacknowledged caregiving—especially for elders—also erodes career progress.

10. The Patent System: Problems and Reforms

[39:29–46:33]

• Is the US patent regime fit for purpose? Has reform worked?
• Progress: Switch to “first to file,” more awareness of patent trolling, and new initiatives (e.g. the Success Act) to track and broaden participation.
• Lack of data on who is (and isn't) patenting hampers efforts to increase inclusivity. If more women and underrepresented minorities were included, GDP per capita could be 0.6%-4.4% higher.
• Quote [41:19]: “If we included more women and underrepresented minorities... GDP per capita [could be] 0.6% or 4.4% higher.” — Lisa Cook

11. International Perspectives on Intellectual Property

[43:00–46:49]

• Cook describes Chinese companies’ reliance on US patent protection as the “gold standard” for unlocking global markets and investments, despite China’s ambivalence about IP regimes.
• A story about a Chinese winemaker demonstrates international dependence on American legal protections for IP.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On economic impact of racial violence in innovation:
  “We lost the equivalent of a medium sized European country's patents to this kind of violence.” — Lisa Cook, [02:40]
• On scientific races and personal risk:
  “His house was bombed... it wasn’t as if being an inventor... meant you were untouchable.” — Lisa Cook, [05:54]
• On maximizing innovation through diversity:
  “We have to make sure that there is a free flow of ideas and that we don't predetermine where those ideas can come from.” — Lisa Cook, [10:52]
• On COVID-19 and IP as a public good:
  “If it were just for profit maximization, we would be in trouble because this is a pandemic.” — Lisa Cook, [14:02]
• On pandemic gender impacts:
  “Labor force participation rates for women [are] where they were in 1987. We've lost 30 years overnight.” — Lisa Cook, [21:17]

Important Timestamps

• [02:25] – What “racism impoverishes the whole economy” really means
• [05:13] – Personal story of Percy Julian and inventors facing violence
• [09:16] – Comparative advantage, vaccines, and who gets to innovate
• [11:10] – Vaccine patent debates and public good arguments
• [14:02–16:22] – Complexities of IP and licensing during the COVID-19 pandemic
• [17:28–19:32] – On transparency, emergency preparedness, and IP lessons
• [20:22–24:28] – Pandemic’s effect on women in science and the workforce
• [28:16] – Supply chains, labor costs, and the consequences of deindustrialization
• [39:29] – State of US patent system and underrepresented inventors

Final Segment: The Numbers Round

[52:52] – Lisa Cook chooses "242 billion":

• $242 billion is the amount deposited in people’s accounts in stimulus checks as of that Wednesday. Cook urges more innovation in financial systems for crisis responsiveness:
• Quote: “There are many other ways to make sure… we are not in the business of waiting forever for people to get some sort of relief.” — Lisa Cook

Summary Takeaways

• Racial bias and violence have direct, measurable economic costs that extend far beyond the targeted group, reducing the nation’s GDP and technological edge.
• Expanding access to innovation, including through patent reform and data transparency, is critical for raising US living standards and economic dynamism.
• Public health emergencies sharpen debates over the rightful limits and structure of intellectual property—peer nations look to the US as a standard, but new models may be needed for public goods.
• Societal shocks like the pandemic both accelerate innovation and expose deep structural inequities, especially among women and minorities, with potential long-term consequences for innovation.

For deeper dives:

• Lisa Cook’s 2014 paper: "Violence and Economic Activity: Evidence from African American Patents, 1870-1940"
• Her NYT essay: "Racism Impoverishes the Whole Economy"

Note: This summary omits advertisements, intros, and podcast logistics, focusing solely on in-depth content and maintaining the engaging, rigorous tone of the conversation.