Is Academic Research Really A Public Good?

Academia: "Basic research is a public good the market will under-provide because there are spillover benefits market prices don't capture."

Also Academia: "Pregnancy is a disease and 'stereotypes about gender, as well as efforts to exploit the reproductive bodies of chickens, have aided the devastating downfall of these birds.'"

How big do the positive spillovers need to be to compensate for the negative spillovers we endure thanks to academic research that produces public bads? If you're looking for a dissertation topic, it's a good one.

My author copies of Mere Economics arrived yesterday, and I'm excited to see the book in print. The first printing, as I'll explain later, contains an embarrassing typo that will make it a valuable collector's item. It's not as salacious as the Wicked Bible, but it will be amusing.