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Procuring drugs while regulating the private market

Author

Listed:
  • Figueroa, Nicolás
  • Guadalupi, Carla

Abstract

Public procurement mechanisms play a critical role in reducing drug costs and improving access to medicines. However, their competitive effects often fail to fully translate into private markets, where patient loyalty and physician preferences create quasi-monopolistic conditions for branded drugs. This paper proposes a novel mechanism that integrates public procurement and private market regulation. A branded-drug producer with market power competes with generic firms in a procurement auction, but it may opt out to retain unregulated monopoly profits. The optimal mechanism adjusts the allocation rule based on the firm’s cost reports: For low-cost reports, it resembles a standard optimal auction. For high-cost reports, it favors the branded-drug producer in procurement while tightening price caps in the private market. This mechanism results in higher profits for all cost realizations, reflecting the role of higher informational rents driven by type-dependent outside option. Compared to standard practices, this mechanism yields significant welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Figueroa, Nicolás & Guadalupi, Carla, 2025. "Procuring drugs while regulating the private market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:250:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525001247
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112287
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Procurement; Monopoly; Monopoly regulation; Type-dependent outside option;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • H57 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Procurement
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation

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