This paper argues that drugs are expensive not because of a lack of competition among research-based pharmaceutical companies, but because of a lack of competition in the drug approval process. Lack of competition in the drug approval process has led to exceedingly high drug development costs....

This paper examines how equitable, differentiated pricing can improve access to and affordability of medicines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and how governments and supranational agencies can create an environment that enables pharmaceutical companies to operate a...

We study practice variation in scheduling of cesarean section delivery across public and private hospitals in Italy. Adopting a novel perspective, we look at the role played by patients’ preferences for the treatment. The recursive probit model is revisited as a useful tool to assess the...