Biography
Mary K. Olson is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Health Policy Program in the Murphy Institute. She received her BA from Northwestern University and her PhD from Stanford University. Her research interests include health economics, pharmaceutical regulation, and innovation policy. She is an expert on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation. She has published articles that examine new-drug approval policies, the effects of prescription-drug user fees on the FDA, the effects of faster FDA drug reviews on the safety of new medicines, the consequences of eliminating the U.S. drug lag on drug safety, and the effects of FDA’s pediatric exclusivity policy. Her current research examines how physician prescribing responds to new scientific information in drug labels, how the adoption of electronic medical records affects hospital performance, and how reduced cost sharing in drug insurance affects health care use and spending.
She has received grant awards from the National Science Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Smith Richardson Foundation. She also served as a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee that assessed the U.S. drug safety system.
Dr. Olson was awarded the 2008 Mortar Board Award for Excellence in Tenured Teaching by Newcomb College.
Interests
- Pharmaceutical regulation and policy
- Innovation and health care
- Prescription Drugs
Contributions
Publications
- Olson, Mary K. and Yin, N. “New Clinical Information and Physician Prescribing: How Do Pediatric Labeling Changes Affect Prescribing to Children?" Health Economics. 30(1): 144-164. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4182 (2021).
- Olson, M.K. and Yin, N. “Examining Firm Responses to R&D Policy: An Analysis of Pediatric Exclusivity.” American Journal of Health Economics 4(3): 321-357 (Summer 2018).
- Olson, Mary K. “Eliminating the Drug Lag: Implications for Drug Safety.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 47(1):1-30 (August 2013).
- Olson, Mary K. “PDUFA and Initial U.S. Drug Launches.” Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review 15(2): 393-416 (Spring 2009).
- Olson, Mary K. “The Risk We Bear: The Effects of Review Speed and Industry User Fees on New Drug Safety” Journal of Health Economics 27(2): 175-200, (2008).
- Olson, Mary K. “Are Novel Drugs More Risky for Patients than Less Novel Drugs?” Journal of Health Economics 23(6): 1135-1158 (2004).
- Olson,Mary K. “Managing Delegation in the FDA: Reducing Delay in New-Drug Review.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law 29(3): 397-430 (2004).
- Olson, Mary K. “Examining the Determinants of Drug Review Times: Considering Alternative Approaches,'' Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, 29(3): 443-450 (June 2004).
- Olson, Mary K. ``Perspective: Explaining Reductions in FDA Drug Reviews: PDUFA Matters,'' Health Affairs, Web Exclusive (2004).
- Olson, Mary K. “Pharmaceutical Policy Change and the Safety of New Drugs.” Journal of Law and Economics 45(2) Part 2: 615-642 (2002).
- Olson, Mary K. “How Have User Fees Affected the FDA?'' Regulation, 25(1): 20-25 (Spring 2002).
- Schulman, Sara, Olson, Mary, Makuch, Robert. “What Factors Shape and Limit the Role of CDER's Advisory Committees?'' Drug Information Journal, 36(2): 281-289 (2002).
- Olson, Mary K. “Regulatory Reform and Bureaucratic Responsiveness to Firms: The Impact of User Fees in the FDA.” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 9(3): 363-395 (2000).
- Olson, Mary K. “Agency Rule-making, Political Influences, Regulation, and Industry Compliance.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 15(3): 573-601 (1999).
- Olson, Mary K. “Firm Characteristics and the Speed of FDA Approval.” Journal of Economics and Management Strategy 6(2): 377-401 (1997).
- Olson, Mary. “Substitution in Regulatory Agencies: FDA Enforcement Alternatives.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 12(2): 376-407 (1996).
- Olson, Mary K. “Regulatory Agency Discretion among Competing Industries: Inside the FDA.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 11(2): 379-405 (1995).
- Olson, Mary K. “The Effects of UK Pharmaceutical Policy on Government Drug Expenditure: Cost Control and Incentives for R&D,'' International Journal of the Economics of Business, 2(1): 51-64 (1995).
- Olson, Mary K. “Political Influence and Regulatory Policy: The 1984 Drug Legislation,'' Economic Inquiry, 32(3): 363-382 (July 1994).