Ask Your Doctor? Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Sinkinson, Michael; Starc, Amanda
• 署名单位: Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Northwestern University
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6527
• DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdy001
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 836-881
• 关键词: Adverse selection; health-insurance; prescription; CHOICE; expenditures; MARKETS

摘要

We measure the impact of direct-to-consumer television advertising (DTCA) by drug manufacturers. Our identification strategy exploits shocks to local advertising markets generated by the political advertising cycle and a regulatory intervention affecting a single product. We find evidence of significant business stealing effects among branded, advertised drugs. In addition, we show positive spillovers from drug advertisements to non-advertised competitors in the same class. We decompose the effect and show it is primarily due to new customers. Finally, we provide evidence that DTCA is cost-effective from a societal standpoint in our setting.