The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets
We study the effects of competition by state-owned firms, leveraging the decentralized entry of public pharmacies to local markets in Chile. Public pharmacies sell the same drugs at a third of private pharmacy prices, because of stronger upstream bargaining and market power in the private sector, but are of lower quality. Public pharmacies induced market segmentation and price increases in the private sector, which benefited the switchers to the public option but harmed the stayers. The countrywide entry of public pharmacies would reduce yearly consumer drug expenditure by 1.5 percent.
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Copy CitationJuan Pablo Atal, José Ignacio Cuesta, Felipe González, and Cristóbal Otero, "The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets," NBER Working Paper 30779 (2022), https://doi.org/10.3386/w30779.Download Citation
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Published Versions
Juan Pablo Atal & José Ignacio Cuesta & Felipe González & Cristóbal Otero, 2024. "The Economics of the Public Option: Evidence from Local Pharmaceutical Markets," American Economic Review, vol 114(3), pages 615-644. citation courtesy of 
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