Ten papers are presented by Puig-Junoy (Research Centre for Economics and Health, Pompeu Fabra U., Spain). Coverage begins with regulation and competition and their effects on innovation and
prices, specifically, patents, price regulation systems used in the OECD countries, competition between rival English and Spanish pharmaceutical companies, and the impact of mechanisms designed
to encourage price competition on efficiency and welfare. The next group of papers analyzes the effectiveness of supply and demand instruments used by public financing agencies to regulate
pharmaceutical expenditure, the participation of the insured in the payment of pharmaceutical price, the use of economic evaluation in pharmaceutical policy, and financial and non-financial
incentives for influencing prescriber decisions. The final two chapters consider the current state of pharmaceutical expenditure in Spain and review the research on the economics of
pharmaceuticals done by Spanish economists since 1980. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
