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Markups on Drop-Downs: Prominence in Pharmaceutical Markets∗

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  • Hauschultz, Frederik Plum
  • Munk-Nielsen, Anders

Abstract

We study the effect of product prominence in consumer search on demand and equilibrium prices using data from Danish pharmaceutical markets. Variation in prominence comes from alphabetical ordering in physician IT-systems. We find that both prescriptions, prices, market shares and revenue decrease in alphabetical rank. We estimate a structural ordered search model which confirms that physicians actively search. They react to patient expenditures, albeit less than patients, and increase search effort for low-income and female patients. Sorting products by price would reduce equilibrium expenditures by 5%, which is more than a removal of search frictions would achieve.

Suggested Citation

  • Hauschultz, Frederik Plum & Munk-Nielsen, Anders, 2020. "Markups on Drop-Downs: Prominence in Pharmaceutical Markets∗," MPRA Paper 104582, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:104582
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ordered search; pharmaceuticals; market power; prominence.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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