In the News

Oligopoly - Why is insulin so expensive?

Graham Watson

14th February 2019

A fascinating Business Insider clip looking at why insulin is so expensive in the US - and why it hasn't always been that way.

Oligopoly - Why is insulin so expensive?

Insulin is an essential drug for diabetics, but the price has increased so dramatically. Why? You would think that the absence of patent protection would reduce the market price of insulin.

Well, insulin is only produced by three firms in the US - who claim to set prices independently - but as a good economist with an understanding of business behaviour in an oligopoly, you might think differently.

This is a fantastic look at the nature of the markets and a really rather worrying clip.

Graham Watson

Graham Watson has taught Economics for over twenty years. He contributes to Tutor2U, reads voraciously and is interested in all aspects of Teaching and Learning.

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