American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Market Impacts of Pharmaceutical Product Patents in Developing Countries: Evidence from India
American Economic Review
vol. 106,
no. 1, January 2016
(pp. 99–135)
Abstract
In 2005, as the result of a World Trade Organization mandate, India implemented a patent reform for pharmaceuticals that was intended to comply with the 1995 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Exploiting variation in the timing of patent decisions, we estimate that a molecule receiving a patent experienced an average price increase of just 3-6 percent, with larger increases for more recently developed molecules and for those produced by just one firm when the patent system began. Our results also show little impact on quantities sold or on the number of pharmaceutical firms operating in the market. (JEL K33, L11, L13, L65, O14, O34, O38)Citation
Duggan, Mark, Craig Garthwaite, and Aparajita Goyal. 2016. "The Market Impacts of Pharmaceutical Product Patents in Developing Countries: Evidence from India." American Economic Review, 106 (1): 99–135. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20141301Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- K33 International Law
- L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
- L13 Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
- L65 Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology
- O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
- O34 Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
- O38 Technological Change: Government Policy