Opioid epidemic and corporate innovation

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the local opioid epidemic on corporate innovation. Utilizing a large sample of U.S. public firms from 2003 to 2017, we find that firms located in counties with higher death rates caused by opioid overdoses are significantly less innovative as measured by their patenting activities. To establish causality, we exploit the state implementations of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) as quasi-experiments and an instrumented variable approach. We find suggestive evidence that the opioid epidemic hinders local firms' innovation by increasing healthcare costs, decreasing productivity, and through the exodus of local inventors.