Frank Lichtenberg

Biography

Frank R. Lichtenberg is Courtney C. Brown Professor of Business at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research; and a member of the CESifo Research Network. He received a BA with Honors in History from the University of Chicago and an MA and PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Lichtenberg previously taught at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Ecole Polytechnique. He has served as an expert for the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Dept. of Justice, and state Attorneys General, and has testified before Congress. He has worked for several U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Justice, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Census Bureau, and been a visiting scholar at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, the University of Munich, and elsewhere.

Some of Professor Lichtenberg’s research has examined how the introduction of new technology arising from research and development affects the productivity of companies, industries and nations. He has performed studies of the impact of pharmaceutical innovation on longevity, the effect of computers on productivity in business and government organizations, and the consequences of takeovers and leveraged buyouts for efficiency and employment. His articles have been published in numerous scholarly journals and in the popular press. His book Corporate Takeovers and Productivity has been published by MIT Press.

He was awarded the 1998 Schumpeter Prize for his paper, Pharmaceutical Innovation as a Process of Creative Destruction; the 2003 Milken Institute Award for Distinguished Economic Research for the paper, Pharmaceutical Knowledge-Capital Accumulation and Longevity; and Research!America’s 2010 Garfield Economic Impact Award for the paper, The effect of new cancer drug approvals on the life expectancy of American cancer patients, 1978-2004.

He has been awarded research fellowships, grants, and contracts by the National Science Foundation, the World Health Organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Merck and Co., the Fulbright Commission, the Brookings Institution, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The German Marshall Fund, the American Enterprise Institute, and other organizations. He has served as a consultant to private organizations and government agencies including the Securities Industry Association, Pfizer, Inc., the Community Preservation Corporation, the RAND Corporation, the New York City Water Board, Touche Ross and Co., The Walt Disney Company, McGraw-Hill, and the National Pharmaceutical Council. He is an affiliate of the economics consulting firm Analysis Group.

Teaching

Spring 2018

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)
Managerial Economics (EMBA)

Summer 2017

Managerial Economics Continued (EMBA)
Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Spring 2017

Managerial Economics (EMBA)
Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)

Summer 2016

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Spring 2016

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)
Managerial Economics (EMBA)

Summer 2015

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)
Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Spring 2015

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)

Fall 2014

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Summer 2014

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)
Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)

Spring 2014

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)
Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (MBA)

Fall 2013

Economics of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Spring 2013

Economics of Health Care & Pharmaceuticals (MBA)

Fall 2012

Managerial Economics (1.5 cr) (EMBA)
Economics of Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (EMBA)

Columbia Caseworks cases

Can Health Technology Assessment Help Control Drug Costs? (2016)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Research

Journal articles

The contribution of pharmaceutical innovation to longevity growth in Germany and France, 2001–2007 In PharmacoEconomics (2012)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Has Pharmaceutical Innovation Reduced Social Security Disability Growth? In International Journal of the Economics of Business (2011)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Despite steep costs, payments for new cancer drugs make economic sense In Nature Medicine (2011)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The quality of medical care, behavioral risk factors, and longevity growth In International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics (2011)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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What Are the Respective Roles of the Public and Private Sectors in Pharmaceutical Innovation? In Health Affairs (2011)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg, Bhaven Sampat

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Are Increasing 5-Year Survival Rates Evidence of Success Against Cancer? A Reexamination Using Data from the U.S. and Australia In Forum for Health Economics & Policy (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Pharmaceutical innovation and mortality in the United States, 1960–2000. A commentary on Schnittker and Karandinos In Social Science and Medicine (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Pharmaceutical Price Discrimination and Social Welfare In Capitalism and Society (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The effect of drug vintage on survival: Micro evidence from Puerto Rico''s Medicaid program In Advances in health economics and health services research (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Availability of New Drugs and Americans'' Ability to Work In Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Impact of New Drug Launches on Longevity: Evidence from Longitudinal, Disease-Level Data from 52 Countries, 1982-2001 In International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Effects of Medicare on Health Care Utilization and Outcomes In Frontiers in Health Policy Research (2002)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Do (More and Better) Drugs Keep People Out of Hospitals? In American Economic Review (1996)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Private R and D Investment Response to Federal Design and Technical Competitions In American Economic Review (1988)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology In Review of Economics and Statistics (1987)
Coauthor(s): Ann Bartel, Frank Lichtenberg

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Books

Corporate Takeovers and Productivity (1992)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Chapters

Pharmaceutical Knowledge-Capital Accumulation and Longevity In Measuring Capital in the New Economy (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Web-only articles

Importation and Innovation In Chazen Web Journal of International Business (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Burden of Disease in Developing and Developed Countries In Chazen Web Journal of International Business (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Working papers

The Impact of Biomedical Knowledge Accumulation on Mortality: A Bibliometric Analysis of Cancer Data In Working Paper No. 19593 (2013)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Impact of New (Orphan) Drug Approvals on Premature Mortality from Rare Diseases in the U.S. and France, 1999–2007 (2011)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Has medical innovation reduced cancer mortality? In Working Paper No. 15880 (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Is Home Health Care a Substitute for Hospital Care? (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The impact of medical knowledge accumulation and diffusion on health: Evidence from Medline and other N.I.H. data (2010)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Quality of Medical Care, Behavioral Risk Factors, and Longevity Growth In NBER Working Papers, Working Paper 15068 (2009)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Benefits and Costs of Newer Drugs: An Update (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Pharmaceutical-Embodied Technical Progress, Longevity, and Quality of Life: Drugs as ''Equipment for Your Health'' (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg, Suchin Virabhak

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Sources of U.S. Longevity Increase, 1960-1997 (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Dual Effects of Intellectual Property Regulations: Within- and Between-Patent Competition in the U.S. Pharmaceuticals Industry (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Effect of Changes in Drug Utilization on Labor Supply and Per Capita Output (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Effect of Education on Medical Technology Adoption: Are the More Educated More Likely to Use New Drugs? (2005)
Coauthor(s): Adriana Lleras-Muney, Frank Lichtenberg

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The Expanding Pharmaceutical Arsenal in the War on Cancer In NBR Working Paper 10328 (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Impact of New Drug Launches on Longevity: From 52 Countries, 1982-2001 (2005)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Effect of New Drugs on Mortality from Rare Diseases and HIV In NBER Working Paper 8677 (2002)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Benefits and Costs of Newer Drugs: Evidence from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey In NBER Working Paper 8147 (2001)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Pharmaceutical Innovation, Mortality Reduction, and Economic Growth In NBER Working Paper W6569 (1998)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Allocation of Publicly-Funded Biomedical Research In NBER Working Paper 6601 (1998)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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The Effect of Pharmaceutical Utilization and Innovation on Hospitalization and Mortality In NBER Working Paper No. W5418 (1996)
Coauthor(s): Frank Lichtenberg

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Ideas and Insights

Even at Current Prices, Drug Innovation Is a Cost-Effective Means to Curb Cancer (2016)

Awards And Honors

2010 Garfield Economic Impact Award

For the publication "The Effect of New Cancer Drug Approvals on the Life Expectancy of American Cancer Patients, 1978 - 2004

2003 Milken Institute Award for Distinguished Economic Research

For the paper "Pharmaceutical knowledge-capital accumulation and longevity"

Winner of the 1998 Schumpeter Prize

For the paper "Pharmaceutical innovation as a process of creative destruction"