Title page
Contents
Abstract 2
Acknowledgments 2
1. Introduction 3
2. Scientists at War: the OSRD and the Committee on Medical Research 3
3. OSRD and the Direction of Innovation 5
4. Wartime Medical Research and the Direction of Innovation: Case Studies 8
4.1. Penicillin and antibiotics 8
4.2. Malaria 11
4.3. Vaccines 12
4.4. Blood 14
4.5. Hormones 14
5. War and the Direction of Medical Innovation: Potential Mechanisms 16
6. Looking Forward: Covid-19 and the Direction of Innovation 19
References 21
Exhibits
Exhibit 1. Top 2-digit NBER categories by OSRD rate, 1941-1948 6
Exhibit 2. USPTO patenting by U.S. versus foreign inventors in the top quartile of OSRD treated classes (relative to untreated classes), annual estimates 1930-1970 7