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Priceless Goods: How Should Life-Saving Drugs be Priced?

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  • Maitland, Ian

Abstract

This article examines the ethical issues raised by the pricing of priceless goods. Priceless goods are defined as ones that are widely held to have some special non-market value that makes them unsuited for buying and selling. One subset of priceless goods is prescription drugs—particularly life-saving and life-enhancing ones. Drug makers are under pressure to price their medicines responsibly, which means to restrain their prices (and profits). However, this article argues that it is precisely because life-saving and life-enhancing medicines are priceless that it is especially urgent to leave companies free to charge market prices for them.

Suggested Citation

  • Maitland, Ian, 2002. "Priceless Goods: How Should Life-Saving Drugs be Priced?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 451-480, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:12:y:2002:i:04:p:451-480_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Arzi Adbi & Ajay Bhaskarabhatla & Chirantan Chatterjee, 2020. "Stakeholder Orientation and Market Impact: Evidence from India," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 479-496, January.
    2. Alan Singer, 2010. "Integrating Ethics and Strategy: A Pragmatic Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(4), pages 479-491, April.
    3. Bénédicte Bourcier-Béquaert & Loréa Baïada-Hirèche & Anne Sachet-Milliat, 2022. "Cure or Sell: How Do Pharmaceutical Industry Marketers Combine Their Dual Mission? An Approach Using Moral Dissonance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(3), pages 555-581, January.
    4. Edward Balotsky, 2009. "Where Strategy and Ethics Converge: Pharmaceutical Industry Pricing Policy for Medicare Part D Beneficiaries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 75-88, January.
    5. Lori Verstegen Ryan, 2006. "Foundation and Form of the Field of Business Ethics," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Spring 20), pages 34-49.
    6. Thomas Hemphill, 2010. "Extraordinary Pricing of Orphan Drugs: Is it a Socially Responsible Strategy for the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 225-242, June.
    7. Alexei M. Marcoux, 2009. "Retrieving Business Ethics from Political Philosophy," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 24(Spring 20), pages 21-33.
    8. Thomas Carson, 2013. "Free Exchange for Mutual Benefit: Sweatshops and Maitland’s “Classical Liberal Standard”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 127-135, January.
    9. Juan Elegido, 2009. "The Just Price: Three Insights from the Salamanca School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 90(1), pages 29-46, November.
    10. James Huebner, 2014. "Moral Psychology and the Intuition that Pharmaceutical Companies Have a ‘Special’ Obligation to Society," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 501-510, July.
    11. Juan Elegido, 2015. "The Just Price as the Price Obtainable in an Open Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 557-572, September.
    12. Wade M. Chumney & David Wasieleski & E Günter Schumacher, 2017. "The conflict between U.S. patent protection and technological innovation," Post-Print hal-01768893, HAL.
    13. Alexei M. Marcoux, 2006. "The Concept of Business in Business Ethics," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Spring 20), pages 50-67.
    14. N. D. Albers & A. O. Wren & T. L. Knotts & M. G. Chupp, 2021. "Consumer Perceptions and Pricing Practices for Weddings," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 407-426, September.
    15. Michael Buckley, 2013. "A Constructivist Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 117(4), pages 695-706, November.

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