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Banning Foreign Pharmacies from Sponsored Search: The Online Consumer Response

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  • Matthew Chesnes
  • Weijia (Daisy) Dai
  • Ginger Zhe Jin

Abstract

Increased competition from the internet has raised concerns about the quality of prescription drugs sold online. Given the pressure from the Department of Justice, Google agreed to ban pharmacies not certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) from sponsored search listings. Using comScore click-through data originated from health-related queries, we study how the ban affects consumer search and click behavior in a difference-in-differences framework using the synthetic control method. We find that non-NABP-certified pharmacies receive fewer clicks after the ban and this effect is heterogeneous. In particular, pharmacies not certified by the NABP, but certified by other sources (other-certified websites), experience an increase in organic clicks that partially offsets the loss in paid clicks after the ban. In contrast, pharmacies not certified by any certification agencies experience much lower rates of substitution in organic clicks. These results suggest that the ban has increased the search cost for other-certified websites, but at least some consumers overcome the search cost by switching from sponsored to organic links. The lower substitution for uncertified websites may be explained by the rising consumer concerns about the quality of drugs sold on uncertified websites after the ban.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Chesnes & Weijia (Daisy) Dai & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2014. "Banning Foreign Pharmacies from Sponsored Search: The Online Consumer Response," NBER Working Papers 20088, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20088
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce

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