Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Bordoy Catalina Author-Name: Jelovac Izabela Author-workplace-name: MERIT Title: Pricing and Welfare of Parallel Imports in the Pharmaceutical Industry Abstract: In this paper we investigate the implications of permitting parallel imports ofpharmaceuticals produced by a monopoly, from one country to another. We use a modelwhere countries differ in the patients’ level of co-payment for buying pharmaceuticals, andpatients differ in the utility obtained from the consumption of pharmaceuticals. We show thatthe effects of parallel imports on total welfare are as follows: On the one hand, whencountries differ in their health system only, parallel imports decrease total welfare; On theother hand, when countries differ in the health needs of their patients only, parallel importsenhance total welfare. Keywords: international economics and trade ; Series: Research Memoranda Creation-Date: 2003 Number: 004 File-URL: http://digitalarchive.maastrichtuniversity.nl/fedora/objects/guid:b3656a5f-156b-4770-9a38-3864e2514f40/datastreams/ASSET1/content File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 210021 Handle: RePEc:unm:umamer:2003004