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September 25, 2007
Give prizes a try
We've had lots of experience with subsidizing, and far less with prizes (Longitude and Orteig Prize notwithstanding) as a method of encouraging research. In Like a Virgin, the national review speaks out for more prizes and less subsidy. Knowledge problem fairly questions in Adler: Government-Sponsored Prizes would be Better than Subsidies if there is any evidence to support this claim.
The way I see this, this could be a way to avoid some the ethical and taste pitfalls of research in things like stem cells or human spaceflight. It might be unsightly to have the federal government funding things like that. But not so unseemly that we want to ban it outright. So prizes let us determine, if it is as advocates say, that this is fruitful line of research. Venture capitalists could front the money, knowing that later they would be proven right. Those that morally objected would have the benefit of only funding research that was successful. Surely, the moral crime, if any, is moderated by only going to research that is proven to help people.
Posted by OneEyedMan at September 25, 2007 6:33 PM
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