Purpose - The main goal of this paper is to analyze the implementation of pharmaceuticals cost-containment measures in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach - This paper adopts descriptive and analytical techniques to assess the extent of implementing pharmaceutical cost-containment measures in...

Submarine cables enable international connectivity and are essential for high- speed internet access. This paper examines their impact on internet access price, focusing on price reductions driven by cost savings and competition intensity. Using a dataset of submarine cable capacity and internet...

Oil price increases that began in late 2020 have led to a global proliferation of liquid fuel subsidies and price controls, as governments sought to reduce, redistribute, or delay the impact of rising and volatile energy prices on consumers. This report draws on two new global databases...

This paper proposes that the South African Reserve Bank should pursue a 3% inflation target, instead of the current 4.5% midpoint of a 3%-to-6% target range. Doing so may also result in lower inflation volatility, thereby reducing nominal exchange rate risk for investment and trade, and may thus...

We test the predictions of the sticky information model using a survey dataset by comparing shoppers' accuracy in recalling the prices of regulated and comparable unregulated products. Because regulated product prices are capped, they are sold more than comparable unregulated products, while...

This study examines price transmission dynamics in the Hungarian pork market from 2017 to 2023, focusing on the effects of price controls implemented to combat inflation. Inflation and price control policies have been central topics in economic research due to their significant impacts on market...

Hidden “junk” fees have the potential to distort competition, creating high costs to consumers. However, regulating them can lead to adverse effects, especially in complex markets with intermediaries where they are most prevalent. To explore the equilibrium adjustments of regulating hidden...

I study the passthrough of regulated ad valorem pharmacy markups and reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) rates to pharmaceutical retail prices in Finland. My reduced form evidence shows that pharmaceutical manufacturers respond to a decrease in regulated pharmacy markups by increasing their wholesale...

This paper evaluates the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) on alcohol consumption in the UK using a difference-in-differences (DiD) framework, leveraging rich individual-level survey data. We estimate Average Treatment Effects on the Treated (ATET) using both standard and staggered DiD...

The recent unprecedented global inflation has focussed attention on the supply side inflation dynamics, The Indian inflation episodes, however, have been largely associated with supply shortages and, on average, remained elevated through the last four decades, with different policy phases...

In the aftermath of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and rising gas prices, the "gas Price brake" was implemented in Germany. We employ a difference-in-differences Approach and analyze data on offered gas contracts from two countries with comparable gas markets, where one country (Germany) has...

Consumer consent regulation is the cornerstone of modern data privacy regulation such as the European GDPR and the Californian CCPA. By ensuring that consumers can reject any harmful data collection, the regulation seems an effective tool for protecting consumers against price discrimination. By...

The balancing market for power is designed to account for the difference between predicted supply/demand of electricity and the realised supply/demand. However, increased electrification of society changes the consumption patterns, and increased production from renewable sources leads to larger...

In this essay, I argue that the explosion of inflation during the Salvador Allende administration in Chile (above 1,500% on a six-month annualized measure) was predictable. The government's use of massive and strict price controls generated acute macroeconomic imbalances. I postulate that the...

Background Introducing more generics has been a successful strategy for lowering pharmaceutical prices and expenditure. However, the effect of the strategy depends on the pricing schemes for generics. We aimed to update the South Korean generic markets in terms of effective competition, and to...

The literature on the Indian pharmaceutical industry has examined the importance of product patents and the attempts policy has made to regulate them. However, it has not done the same for the question of brands. Our study addresses this gap. The Tariff Commission Report of 1968, a turning point...

In 2022, energy prices in the European Union reached record highs, accompanied by a significant increase in fuel prices. In response, the Hungarian government imposed a price cap on retail fuel prices from November 15, 2021 to December 6, 2022. This study empirically examines the effect of the...

In the wake of the global energy crisis, many European countries used energy price controls to fight inflation and to stabilize the economy. Despite its wide adoption, many economists remained skeptical. In this paper, we argue that price controls should be part of the policy toolbox to respond...