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Can Operation Warp Speed Serve as a Model for Accelerating Innovations Beyond COVID Vaccines?

Author

Listed:
  • Arielle D'Souza
  • Kendall Hoyt
  • Christopher M. Snyder
  • Alec Stapp

Abstract

Operation Warp Speed (OWS) was a U.S. government-led program to accelerate the development, production, and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. The program cut the typical ten-year timeline needed to develop a new vaccine down to ten months and began vaccinating vulnerable populations within a year after launch. OWS’s success has led to calls for a similar mission model to accelerate innovations addressing other pressing social needs, including a cure for Alzheimer’s disease or atmospheric-carbon removal to combat global warming. We provide a framework to understand which innovations call for a mission approach and apply economic principles to identify key design features that contributed to the success of OWS.

Suggested Citation

  • Arielle D'Souza & Kendall Hoyt & Christopher M. Snyder & Alec Stapp, 2024. "Can Operation Warp Speed Serve as a Model for Accelerating Innovations Beyond COVID Vaccines?," NBER Working Papers 32831, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32831
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    Cited by:

    1. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2025. "Public–private partnerships, asymmetric information, and incomplete contracts," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Rossana Mastrandrea & Fabio Montobbio & Gabriele Pellegrino & Massimo Riccaboni & Valerio Sterzi, 2025. "Leveraging Knowledge Networks: Rethinking Technological Value Distribution in mRNA Vaccine Innovations," Papers 2503.14072, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D47 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Market Design
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology; Plastics
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • O35 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Social Innovation
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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