Direct to Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceutical Drugs: Information and Persuasion / Talia Bar, Dean R. Lillard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bar, Talia.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Lillard, Dean R.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w19794.

NBER working paper series no. w19794

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Direct to Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceutical Drugs

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2014.

Summary:

We formally model direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs and examine factors that determine a pharmaceutical firm's DTCA strategy. We highlight how the profitability of DTCA varies with the characteristics of the condition that the advertised drug treats, the incidence of the condition, and the signal value of symptoms, and risk factors. We account for the potential information benefits from DTCA as well as its potential to persuade consumers. From a welfare perspective there can be too much or too little private investment in advertising. Welfare is more likely to increase when the population is uninsured.

Notes:

Print version record

January 2014.