Ethics vs. Innovation?

Abstract

The article assesses the empirical veracity of the frequently heard thesis that strict embryo research laws can hinder innovation in embryo and stem cell research, and thereby impede the innovative ability of the medical biotech sector. Based on a comparative study of the OECD countries, and case-study material, the article argues that this thesis can only partly be confirmed. Strict embryo research laws are associated with a lower innovation quota in stem cell research. But this correlation mostly reflects stable structural differences between national innovation systems rather than dynamics triggered by policy measures. Permissive embryo research laws are not automatically associated with an innovative biotechnology sector, and the innovativeness sometimes is a partly unintended consequence, rather than the result of an active political strategy. The results of the analysis caution against undue simplified theses on the impact regulation can have on the innovative ability of national economies. If there are impacts of embryo research laws on the innovative ability of the biotech sector, they will be visible only in the long term. Shortterm political steering efforts have to be judged very sceptically.