May 30, 2018
Every student who has taken an Econ 101 class knows how a 20 percent tariff leads to corruption. So, why is anyone in the world surprised that the patent monopoly the government gave to Purdue Pharma on OxyContin lead the company to ignore evidence that the drug was being misused?
Hey folks, people respond to incentives. If we give them a patent monopoly that allows them to sell a drug at a price that is several thousand percent above its free market price, then drug companies will try to push the drug as widely as possible. This means ignoring evidence that the drug might be less effective than claimed or even harmful.
Come on, every serious person must understand this fact. Is it really necessary to pretend we are surprised?
Comments