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The Impact of the Reference Price System on the Pharmaceutical Market: A Theoretical Approach

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Author Info
Anna Merino
Abstract

This article analyses the impact of the reference price system on the price-setting strategies of the pharmaceutical firms and on the level of generic usage. This model is the first to take explicitly into account the impact of the reference price mechanism on the level of competition between brand-name and generic drugs and national pharmaceutical spending. We consider a duopolistic model with one firm producing the brand-name drug, whose patent has already expired, and the other producing the corresponding generic version. We work in a partial equilibrium framework where firms set prices sequentially and consumers face heterogeneous switching costs.We show that brand producers compensate the decline of profits by selling greater quantities instead of charging higher prices, thus fostering price competition in the pharmaceutical market. This result is a consequence of both the assumption of a vertically differentiated model and the introduction of the reference price system.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in its series Working Papers, Research Center on Health and Economics with number 524.

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Date of creation: Dec 2000
Date of revision: Jun 2003
Handle: RePEc:upf:upfses:524

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Web page: http://www.econ.upf.edu/

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Related research
Keywords: Brand-name and generic drugs; pricing mechanismand switching costs;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Antonio Cabrales, 2003. "Pharmaceutical Generics, Vertical Product Differentiation, and Public Policy," Working Papers, Research Center on Health and Economics 662, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Klemperer, Paul, 1995. "Competition When Consumers Have Switching Costs: An Overview with Applications to Industrial Organization, Macroeconomics, and International Trade," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 62(4), pages 515-39, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Andrew Ching, 2000. "Dynamic Equilibrium in the US Prescription Drug Market After Patent Expiration," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 1242, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  4. Richard G. Frank & David S. Salkever, 1997. "Generic Entry and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals," NBER Working Papers 5306, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Ellison, S & Cockburn, I & Griliches, A & Hausman, J, 1996. "Characteristics of Demand for Pharmaceutical Products : an Examination of four Cephalosporins," Working papers 96-24, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  6. Nina Pavcnik, 2002. "Do Pharmaceutical Prices Respond to Potential Patient Out-of-Pocket Expenses?," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 33(3), pages 469-487, Autumn.
  7. Coscelli, Andrea, 2000. "The Importance of Doctors' and Patients' Preferences in the Prescription Decision," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(3), pages 349-69, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Richard G. Frank & David S. Salkever, 1997. "Generic Entry and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 6(1), pages 75-90, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Judith K. Hellerstein, 1998. "The Importance of the Physician in the Generic Versus Trade-Name Prescription Decision," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 29(1), pages 108-136, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Motta, Massimo, 1993. "Endogenous Quality Choice: Price vs. Quantity Competition," Journal of Industrial Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(2), pages 113-31, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Conrad, Cecilia A., 1983. "The advantage of being first and competition between firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 353-364, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Zweifel, Peter & Crivelli, Luca, 1996. "Price Regulation of Drugs: Lessons from Germany," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 257-73, November.
  13. Jorge Mestre Ferrándiz, 1999. "The impact of generic goods in the pharmaceutical industry," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(7), pages 599-612.
  14. Uri Ronnen, 1991. "Minimum Quality Standards, Fixed Costs, and Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 22(4), pages 490-504, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Kurt R. Brekke & Ingrid Königbauer & Odd Rune Straume, 2006. "Reference Pricing of Pharmaceuticals," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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