The NYT had an interesting piece on counterfeit drugs in Russia. It reports that counterfeits may account for as much as 30 percent of total sales. This is what happens when the government creates an artificial monopoly with patent protection. Just as the Soviet Union couldn't prevent black market sales of blue jeans, Russia can't prevent sales of unauthorized versions of patented drugs. A little economic analysis would have been very useful in this article.
--Dean Baker
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