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Pharmaceutical Regulation and Incentives for Innovation in an International Perspective

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  • Dubois, Pierre

Abstract

We examine pharmaceutical regulations and incentives for innovation from an international perspective, highlighting the public good nature of healthcare innovation and its cross-border diffusion. We summarize the empirical evidence on how push and pull incentives shape R&D investment, innovation, and global access. We emphasize the role of strategic interdependencies and spillovers, including free-riding in R&D financing, learning-by-doing effects, drug shortages, reference pricing, and parallel trade. We then provide new evidence on the international spillovers of pull incentives on innovation, showing that international cooperation and innovative institutions are necessary to better align national regulations with the global objective of sustaining pharmaceutical innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Dubois, Pierre, 2025. "Pharmaceutical Regulation and Incentives for Innovation in an International Perspective," TSE Working Papers 25-1674, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Dec 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:131002
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    JEL classification:

    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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