Market Power and the Pharmaceutical Industry in South Africa

This paper examines the social cost of the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. From a regulatory perspective the industry is seen to exhibit monopoly-like behaviour resulting in monopoly prices on the supply (manufacturing) side and diminished consumption on the demand (consumer) side. The evidence presented here, which is complementary to that of previous studies, does not support that view. The findings contained here are relevant to the highly contentious subject of access to drugs