Roger Bate
Encyclopedia
Roger Bate is an economist who has held a variety of positions in free market
, libertarian
, and conservative think tanks and lobby groups promoting anti-regulatory, pro-business causes. His current work focuses on counterfeit and substandard medicines, particularly those in the developing world. He also works on U.S. and international aid policy, performance of aid organizations, and health policy in developing countries, particularly with regard to malaria
control and the use of DDT
. He also consulted for the tobacco
industry, though the extent of this work is disputed. He is currently a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute
and the Institute of Economic Affairs
, and he on the board of directors of Africa Fighting Malaria
. He also written a number of articles questioning the science of climate change
.
and was previously educated at University College, London and Thames Valley University
. He began his career as a research analyst for Warburg Securities and Charles Stanley & Co. between 1986 and 1989. He later worked for a range of think tanks and lobby groups, including the Institute of Economic Affairs
and the American Enterprise Institute
.
, a conservative British think tank, in 1993. In 1994, he started the European Science and Environment Forum
(ESEF), which has been described as "a clearinghouse for skeptical scientists and conservative opinion-molders … a go-to resource for anyone wishing to question the validity of proposed health and environmental regulations." While there is no solid evidence that ESEF was funded by the tobacco industry
, the World Health Organization
concluded that it "likely" was a product of the industry, and the organization bore a strong resemblance to The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, the Philip Morris front group run by Steven Milloy
. In 1996, Roger Bate approached R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
for a grant of £50,000 to fund a book on risk, containing a chapter on passive smoking
, (i.e. "second hand smoke") but the grant request was denied and the money was never received. (The Tobacco Institute
, was nonetheless, "involved in" the publication of the book, according to internal industry documents.http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/brq08c00/pdf) That same year he wrote the article "Is Nothing Worse Than Tobacco?," for Wall Street Journal, and later ESEF published What Risk? Science, Politics and Public Health, edited by Bate, which included a chapter on passive smoking. After the publication of this chapter, according to Bate, he undertook a brief period consulting for the Philip Morris
corporation He then approached Philip Morris
seeking funding for the project on DDT and malaria, but received no reply.
of Fearing Food: Risk, Health and Environment. The IEA
website describes the book in the following way : "In the latest ESEF
book, Fearing Food, new agricultural and food technologies, including genetic engineering, are shown to be generally beneficial both to health and to the environment." (Fearing Food was published by Butterworth-Heinemann in September 1999). He was also a presenter on the BBC2 program Organic Food: The Modern Myth.
, a group promoting the use of DDT to control malaria. According to investigative journalist Adam Sarvana, he has been central to promoting "the myth that environmentalists, by preventing the use of the pesticide DDT … to kill mosquitoes in developing countries, have heartlessly caused millions of malaria deaths worldwide." His critics argue that rather than being concerned with saving lives, Bate's principle motivation for promoting DDT is to advance a free market
, anti-regulatory agenda while smearing the environmental movement. For example, an article in the NRDC's magazine quotes Bate as saying, "DDT may be today's target, but it's not going to be long before chemicals that the industry cares about are added to the POPs Convention
and other chemicals regulations."
Aaron Swartz
wrote in Extra! that "a funding pitch uncovered by blogger Eli Rabbett shows Bate’s thinking when he first started the project. 'The environmental movement has been successful in most of its campaigns as it has been ‘politically correct,’' he explained (Tobacco Archives, 09/98). What the anti-environmental movement needs is something with 'the correct blend of political correctness ( . . . oppressed blacks) and arguments (eco-imperialism [is] undermining their future).' That something, Bate proposed, was DDT."The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
documents referred to in the quote are http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/ & http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/search/basic?fd=0&q=%22Africa+Fighting+malaria%22&df=er&c=at&c=bw&c=ct&c=ll&c=pm&c=rj&c=ti&c=da&c=mg&c=ub&c=mm http://ltdlimages.library.ucsf.edu/imagesz/z/v/p/zvp83c00/Szvp83c00.pdf#search=%22roger%20malaria%20bate%22
Bate distinguishes between approved generic drugs and what he calls "pseudo-generics". These are drugs approved as generic versions of proprietary drugs by bodies such as the World Health Organization
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but which, according to Bate, have not been adequately tested for efficacy.
.
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
, libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
, and conservative think tanks and lobby groups promoting anti-regulatory, pro-business causes. His current work focuses on counterfeit and substandard medicines, particularly those in the developing world. He also works on U.S. and international aid policy, performance of aid organizations, and health policy in developing countries, particularly with regard to malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
control and the use of DDT
DDT
DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....
. He also consulted for the tobacco
Big Tobacco
Big Tobacco is a pejorative term often applied to the tobacco industry in general, or more particularly to the "big three" tobacco corporations in the United States: Philip Morris , Reynolds American and Lorillard...
industry, though the extent of this work is disputed. He is currently a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
and the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, and he on the board of directors of Africa Fighting Malaria
Africa Fighting Malaria
Africa Fighting Malaria is an NGO based in Washington DC and South Africa which states it "seeks to educate people about the scourge of Malaria and the political economy of malaria control"...
. He also written a number of articles questioning the science of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Background
Bate holds a Ph.D., economics from the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and was previously educated at University College, London and Thames Valley University
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....
. He began his career as a research analyst for Warburg Securities and Charles Stanley & Co. between 1986 and 1989. He later worked for a range of think tanks and lobby groups, including the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
and the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
.
Early career
Bate founded the Environmental Unit at the Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, a conservative British think tank, in 1993. In 1994, he started the European Science and Environment Forum
European Science and Environment Forum
The European Science and Environment Forum , now defunct, called itself "an independent, non-profit-making alliance of scientists whose aim is to ensure that scientific debates are properly aired, and that decisions which are taken, and action that is proposed, are founded on sound scientific...
(ESEF), which has been described as "a clearinghouse for skeptical scientists and conservative opinion-molders … a go-to resource for anyone wishing to question the validity of proposed health and environmental regulations." While there is no solid evidence that ESEF was funded by the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
, the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
concluded that it "likely" was a product of the industry, and the organization bore a strong resemblance to The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, the Philip Morris front group run by Steven Milloy
Steven Milloy
Steven J. Milloy is a commentator for Fox News and runs the Web site junkscience.com, which is dedicated to "debunking" what Milloy labels "faulty scientific data and analysis." On Fox News Channel he is billed as a "Junk Science commentator." He describes himself as a libertarian.Among the topics...
. In 1996, Roger Bate approached R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. . RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc...
for a grant of £50,000 to fund a book on risk, containing a chapter on passive smoking
Passive smoking
Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke, called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke , from tobacco products used by others. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes...
, (i.e. "second hand smoke") but the grant request was denied and the money was never received. (The Tobacco Institute
Tobacco Institute
The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry.It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.-Founding:...
, was nonetheless, "involved in" the publication of the book, according to internal industry documents.http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/brq08c00/pdf) That same year he wrote the article "Is Nothing Worse Than Tobacco?," for Wall Street Journal, and later ESEF published What Risk? Science, Politics and Public Health, edited by Bate, which included a chapter on passive smoking. After the publication of this chapter, according to Bate, he undertook a brief period consulting for the Philip Morris
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...
corporation He then approached Philip Morris
Philip Morris International
Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...
seeking funding for the project on DDT and malaria, but received no reply.
Genetic engineering
Bate is joint author, with Julian MorrisJulian Morris
Julian Morris is director of think-tank International Policy Network, was formerly a Research Fellow and subsequently Director of the Environment and Technology Programme of the Institute of Economic Affairs. He is also a visiting professor of Economics at the University of Buckingham. Recently he...
of Fearing Food: Risk, Health and Environment. The IEA
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
website describes the book in the following way : "In the latest ESEF
European Science and Environment Forum
The European Science and Environment Forum , now defunct, called itself "an independent, non-profit-making alliance of scientists whose aim is to ensure that scientific debates are properly aired, and that decisions which are taken, and action that is proposed, are founded on sound scientific...
book, Fearing Food, new agricultural and food technologies, including genetic engineering, are shown to be generally beneficial both to health and to the environment." (Fearing Food was published by Butterworth-Heinemann in September 1999). He was also a presenter on the BBC2 program Organic Food: The Modern Myth.
DDT
Since the late 1990s, Bate has been best known for his advocacy of DDT. Bate is co-director of Africa Fighting MalariaAfrica Fighting Malaria
Africa Fighting Malaria is an NGO based in Washington DC and South Africa which states it "seeks to educate people about the scourge of Malaria and the political economy of malaria control"...
, a group promoting the use of DDT to control malaria. According to investigative journalist Adam Sarvana, he has been central to promoting "the myth that environmentalists, by preventing the use of the pesticide DDT … to kill mosquitoes in developing countries, have heartlessly caused millions of malaria deaths worldwide." His critics argue that rather than being concerned with saving lives, Bate's principle motivation for promoting DDT is to advance a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
, anti-regulatory agenda while smearing the environmental movement. For example, an article in the NRDC's magazine quotes Bate as saying, "DDT may be today's target, but it's not going to be long before chemicals that the industry cares about are added to the POPs Convention
Stockholm Convention
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental treaty, signed in 2001 and effective from May 2004, that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants .- History :...
and other chemicals regulations."
Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz
Aaron Swartz is an American programmer, writer, political organizer and Internet activist. He is best known in programming circles for co-authoring the RSS 1.0 specification...
wrote in Extra! that "a funding pitch uncovered by blogger Eli Rabbett shows Bate’s thinking when he first started the project. 'The environmental movement has been successful in most of its campaigns as it has been ‘politically correct,’' he explained (Tobacco Archives, 09/98). What the anti-environmental movement needs is something with 'the correct blend of political correctness ( . . . oppressed blacks) and arguments (eco-imperialism [is] undermining their future).' That something, Bate proposed, was DDT."The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library is a digital archive of tobacco industry documents, funded by the American Legacy Foundation and created and maintained by the University of California, San Francisco...
documents referred to in the quote are http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/ & http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/search/basic?fd=0&q=%22Africa+Fighting+malaria%22&df=er&c=at&c=bw&c=ct&c=ll&c=pm&c=rj&c=ti&c=da&c=mg&c=ub&c=mm http://ltdlimages.library.ucsf.edu/imagesz/z/v/p/zvp83c00/Szvp83c00.pdf#search=%22roger%20malaria%20bate%22
Counterfeit drugs
Bate's latest work focuses on the prevalence of counterfeit anti-malarials in Africa and strategies by which rich and poor nations can work together to stop the trade of counterfeits. The American Enterprise Institute published his book Making a Killing: The Deadly Implications of the Counterfeit Drug Trade in May 2008. In it he calls for stronger policing resources, harsher penalties for counterfeiters, widespread public education and consumer vigilance to deal with the proliferation of counterfeit drugs.Bate distinguishes between approved generic drugs and what he calls "pseudo-generics". These are drugs approved as generic versions of proprietary drugs by bodies such as the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but which, according to Bate, have not been adequately tested for efficacy.
Funding
Bate's work is currently funded by the Legatum Institute, which is affiliated with Legatum Capital. He has also received funding from NovartisNovartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
.
Positions held
- American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise InstituteThe American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
, Resident Fellow - Africa Fighting MalariaAfrica Fighting MalariaAfrica Fighting Malaria is an NGO based in Washington DC and South Africa which states it "seeks to educate people about the scourge of Malaria and the political economy of malaria control"...
, Co-director - Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic AffairsThe Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, Director of Environmental Unit, 1993–2000; fellow, 2000– - European Science and Environment ForumEuropean Science and Environment ForumThe European Science and Environment Forum , now defunct, called itself "an independent, non-profit-making alliance of scientists whose aim is to ensure that scientific debates are properly aired, and that decisions which are taken, and action that is proposed, are founded on sound scientific...
(ESEF), Founder and Executive Director, 1995–2001 - International Policy NetworkInternational Policy NetworkThe International Policy Network is a global think tank headquartered in the City of London. It defines itself as a non-partisan, non-profit organization, but has also been described as a "corporate-funded campaigning group"...
, Director, 2001–2003, Fellow 2003 - Sustainable Development Network, "Member"
- Competitive Enterprise InstituteCompetitive Enterprise InstituteThe Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit think tank founded on March 9, 1984 in Washington, D.C. by lobbyist Fred L. Smith, Jr to advance economic liberty and fight over-regulation by big government...
, Adjunct Fellow - Committee For A Constructive TomorrowCommittee for a Constructive TomorrowThe Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow is a conservative Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization whose stated mission is to promote free market solutions to environmental problems...
, Advisory Board - (stockbrokers), Research Analyst, 1986–1989
- Presenter of the
- Political Economy Research Center, Visiting Scholar