Research at the Auction Block: Problems for the Fair Benefits Approach to International Research (Report‪)‬

The "fair benefits" approach to international research is designed to produce results that all can agree are fair without taking a stand on divisive questions of justice. But its appealing veneer of collaboration masks ambiguities at both a conceptual and an operational level. An attempt to put it into practice would look a lot like an auction, leaving little reason to think the outcomes will satisfy even minimal conditions of fairness. These are paradoxical times for medical research that crosses national boundaries. On the one hand, there is widespread recognition that research funded by entities in high-income countries but carried out in low- and middle-income countries raises important questions about fairness and justice. On the other hand, the lack of consensus about which conception of justice or fairness should regulate cross-national social relations has created an almost principled aversion to directly addressing such issues when evaluating international research initiatives.