Roger Bate

Background

Roger Bate is an economist at the right wing American Enterprise Institute think tank. His official bio says “he is an economist who researches international health policy, with a particular focus on tropical disease and substandard and counterfeit medicines. He also writes on general development policy in Asia and Africa. He writes regularly for AEI’s Health Policy Outlook”.
However Bate has a history of climate scepticism, pro-tobacco and pro-pesticide work, including with the following organisations:

• Africa Fighting Malaria
• Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
• International Policy Network
• European Science and Environment Forum (ESEF)

Funded by the Tobacco Industry

Beyond taking tobacco money while at IEA and ESEF, in September 1998 Roger Bate wrote to Philip Morris, this time as a visiting Fellow at the Political Economy Research Center. In the letter he offered his services:

As outlined in more detail in my previous correspondence, the anti-malaria project is one that I hope you will be able to support. Other than its humanitarian, scientific and public policy interest it should enable me to build contacts with politicians and scientist/thinkers from developing African countries. As demonstrated in the debate and policy shift on ivory trading, these representatives are particularly important in the UN/WHO process. I would be happy to regularly inform you of the progress on this front … I’m sure other topics will spring to mind that I can work on but let me know if, in principle, you are interested in this approach and in particular the Montreal Protocol paper to start with. It’s probably three to five days work.

As you probably know I was working for PMCS Brussels Morris Corporate Services at a rate of 800 pounds sterling a day. I would be content to continue to work at the same rate. ¹