In this paper we investigate the implications of permitting parallel imports ofpharmaceuticals produced by a monopoly, from one country to another. We use a modelwhere countries differ in the patients’ level of co-payment for buying pharmaceuticals, andpatients differ in the utility obtained from the consumption of pharmaceuticals. We show thatthe effects of parallel imports on total welfare are as follows: On the one hand, whencountries differ in their health system only, parallel imports decrease total welfare; On theother hand, when countries differ in the health needs of their patients only, parallel importsenhance total welfare.
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Paper provided by Maastricht : MERIT, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology in its series Research Memoranda with number
004.
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