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Market Impacts of Pharmaceutical Product Patents in Developing Countries: Evidence from India
American Economic Review (2016)
  • Mark Duggan, Stanford University
  • Craig Garthwaite, Northwestern University
  • Aparajita Goyal, World Bank
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.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2016
DOI
10.1257/aer.20141301
Citation Information
Mark Duggan, Craig Garthwaite and Aparajita Goyal. "Market Impacts of Pharmaceutical Product Patents in Developing Countries: Evidence from India" American Economic Review Vol. 106 Iss. 1 (2016) p. 99 - 135
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/aparajita_goyal/27/