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  • 2021
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Which Markets (Don't) Drive Pharmaceutical Innovation? Evidence From U.S. Medicaid Expansions

By: Craig Garthwaite, Rebecca Sachs and Ariel Dora Stern
  • Format:Electronic
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

Pharmaceutical innovation policy involves managing a tradeoff between high prices for new products in the short-term and stronger incentives to develop products for the future. Prior research has documented a causal relationship between market size and pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) activities. The existing literature, however, provides no evidence of how this relationship varies across markets. We investigate whether recent expansions in state Medicaid programs caused an increase in R&D. We find no evidence of a response, potentially a result of Medicaid’s low reimbursement for pharmaceuticals, suggesting low(er) price markets may have different dynamics with respect to innovation policy.

Keywords

Pharmaceuticals; Medicaid; Innovation and Invention; Policy; Markets; Research and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry

Citation

Garthwaite, Craig, Rebecca Sachs, and Ariel Dora Stern. "Which Markets (Don't) Drive Pharmaceutical Innovation? Evidence From U.S. Medicaid Expansions." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 28755, May 2021.
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About The Author

Ariel D. Stern

Technology and Operations Management
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More from the Authors
  • The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Innovation Hub: Driving Internal Innovation By: Ariel Dora Stern, Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta
  • Association Between Regulatory Submission Characteristics and Recalls of Medical Devices Receiving 510(k) Clearance By: Alexander O. Everhart, Soumya Sen, Ariel D. Stern, Yi Zhu and Pinar Karaca-Mandic
  • Post-market Surveillance of Software Medical Devices: Evidence from Regulatory Data By: Alexander O. Everhart and Ariel D. Stern
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