Kristina Lybecker

Dr. Kristina M. Lybecker is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Colorado College in Colorado Springs.  She earned a B.A. from Macalester College, with a double major in Economics and Latin American Studies, and received her Ph.D. in Economics in 2000 from the University of California, Berkeley.  Kristina’s research analyzes the difficulties of strengthening intellectual property rights protection in developing countries, specifically the problems related to pharmaceutical counterfeiting and the response of the pharmaceutical industry. Recent publications have also addressed alternatives to the existing patent system, the balance between pharmaceutical patent protection and access to essential medicines, and the markets for jointly produced goods such as blood and blood products.   Kristina has testified in more than a dozen states on the economics of pharmaceutical counterfeiting.  She has also worked with US Food and Drug Administration, Reconnaissance International, PhRMA, the National Peace Foundation, the OECD and the World Bank, on issues of innovation, international trade, and corruption.