Learning About "The Baby Business" at Business School

By Sarah Clark
Career Colleges Columnist

If you're planning to get an MBA degree and enter the biotechnology industry, check out Harvard Business School professor Debora L. Spars' new book, The Baby Business.

Advances in biotechnology have helped create a new market for babies, notes Spar in her new book. In The Baby Business, Spar argues that regulation might be needed to preserve the integrity of the baby market.

What is the Baby Business?

The baby market consists largely of technologies aimed at helping infertile couples have children. Spar says the industry is driven largely by in vitro fertilization and the services that make it possible, such as egg and sperm donation. Adoption services are also part of the baby business.

If you've been following biotechnology news, you are probably aware of the ethical concerns that surround it, from stem cell research to reproductive cloning. An ethical issue Spar raises is whether having children should be considered a human right, a question she says needs to be answered by policy makers.

In an interview published in HBS Working Knowledge, a Harvard Business School newsletter, Spar advocates for more regulation of the baby business, suggesting that it will be good for both consumers and providers of baby-making services. More transparency will aid research efforts, she says. She adds that consumers will be better informed as to the cost and success rates of fertility services.

Business School and Biotechnology

Some MBA programs allow you to obtain a dual master's degree in business and another discipline, such as health policy. If you have an interest in working for a company that delivers health services, such as in vitro fertilization, you might be well-served in such a program. A dual-degree MBA program might take longer than a traditional one - perhaps as much as two additional semesters.

During the interview, Spar also mentioned that an entire cottage industry of lawyers, consultants, and advisors has emerged to address issues facing fertility and adoption. This creates even more opportunity for business-school graduates interested in working in biotechnology. So don't delay - find out today if a dual MBA and health policy degree is right for you.

About the Author
Sarah Clark is a freelance writer specializing in career development and postsecondary education.

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