Linda A. Linkins’s research while affiliated with United States Federal Trade Commission and other places

In this paper, we estimate two empirical models using a pooled, cross-section sample of international pharmaceutical firms for the period 1987 to 1989. The first model tests the relationship between R&D productivity and a vector of firm-specific characteristics. The second model tests the determinants of global market share. The empirical analysis reveals three findings. First, we find evidence that there are diminishing returns in the pharmaceutical R&D process. Second, we find that firm size has a positive effect on average R&D productivity and a positive impact on the marginal R&D productivity for plausible R&D staff sizes. And third, we find evidence that R&D productivity and the number of sales employees have a positive effect on the firm's global market share.

The aggregate demand for ethical pharmaceutical drugs using country-level data for seven countries pooled across an eight-year period is estimated. The regression analysis reveals that the net price paid by consumers has a negative effect on the average number of prescriptions per capita while income has a positive effect. Moreover, the parameter estimates suggest thst the demand is relatively elastic in most countries, and that the income elasticity is greater than one.