Eugene Garfield Economic Impact on Medical and Health Research AwardGarfield E. "On the Further Evolution of the Research!America Award for Economic Impact on Medical and Health Research"
Comments at the Award Ceremony for Dr. Kevin M. Murphy and Dr. Robert H. Topel -
October 25, 2005. Washington DC
2005 Eugene Garfield Economic Impact on
Medical and Health Research Award
presented to Dr. Kevin Murphy And Dr. Robert H. Topel on October 25, 2005 - Washington D.C.
Two Leading Economists Recognized For Calculating
U.S. Economic Gains from Medical Research
Washington, DC—October 24, 2005— University of Chicago Graduate School of Business economics professors Kevin M. Murphy, PhD, and Robert H. Topel, PhD, are the recipients of Research!America’s 2005 Eugene Garfield Economic Impact of Medical and Health Research Award. They were chosen for their groundbreaking work assigning economic value to medical research advances and the resulting gains in U.S. life expectancy. The award recognizes Murphy and Topel’s study, “The Economic Value of Medical Research” in Measuring the Gains from Medical Research, An Economic Approach. Calculating a dollar value for gains in longevity due to advances in medical research, they estimate that “improvements in life expectancy alone added approximately $2.6 trillion per year … to national wealth over the 1970–98 period.” They also calculate economic gains linked to conditions such as heart disease, where research has led to fewer deaths in recent decades. National Research!America opinion polls have found that the public appreciates the economic impact of research. Fully 90% of Americans believe medical and health research is important to the U.S. economy. “In a time of deficits and potential cuts to federal funding for research, the Garfield award recognizes these esteemed researchers, who have shown from an economic perspective that the United States is getting a substantial return on its investment in medical research,” said The Honorable John Edward Porter, chair of Research!America’s board of directors. Eugene Garfield, PhD, the award benefactor and a Research!America
board member, is president and founding editor of The Scientist,
and creator of the Science Citation Index — a tool used by
scientists across many disciplines.
He will present the award October 25 in Washington, DC.
About the 2005 Recipients
Kevin Murphy
is the George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at
the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He is the recent
recipient of a 2005 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.” His research
has focused on demonstrating the economic value of medical research
and resulting social improvements in health and longevity.
About the Award
Research!America is the nation’s largest not-for-profit, public education and advocacy alliance working to make medical and health research—including research to prevent disease, disability and injury and to promote health—a much higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by 500 member organizations, who represent the voices of more than 100 million Americans. For more information, visit www.researchamerica.org. |