Job Market Paper

Price Discrimination and Product Variety: the Case of Implantable Medical Devices(Link)

Abstract: Implantable medical device manufacturers are able to directly price discriminate by setting different prices for the same product in different hospitals. I analyze the welfare effects of this form of price discrimination in the case of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs). I find that if ICD manufacturers switch to uniform pricing, prices increase on average, which causes a decline in hospital welfare and manufacturer profits. Allowing manufacturers to indirectly price discriminate by strategically delaying the exit of older products causes an increase in product variety. As a result, net hospital surplus increases by 3.4% relative to price discrimination, but the consumption of new, higher quality ICDs drops by 19.3%. Relative to price discrimination, manufacturer profits under uniform pricing decline by 6.6%-12.5%

Work in progress

Drug acquisitions and access to sales representatives (with Motaz Al-Chanati)

Abstract: We document novel evidence on an important source of efficiency from drug acquisitions: access to the marketing networks of an acquiring firm. Network size is highly relevant for this industry, as advertising to physicians (known as detailing) typically involves in-person meetings between sales representatives and physicians. We use detailed transaction-level data from 2014-2018, and 13 drug acquisitions by 11 firms in 2015-2016 to document patterns in the data consistent with firms leveraging their existing physician-sales representative networks to derive marketing efficiencies after they acquire a drug.

Medical device recalls, reputation spillovers and advertising

Abstract: I attempt to answer two questions. First, does a product recall by a multiproduct manufacturer have reputation spillovers to other products sold by the same manufacturer? Second, do manufacturers strategically increase their marketing activities after they face a major reputation shock? In preliminary evidence, I find that after a major medical device recall in 2016, there was a drop in the sales of other closely related products of the recalling manufacturer, and marketing payments to physicians by the recalling manufacturer doubled.

Publications

Public Health Facilities in North India: An Exploratory Study in Four States (Link) , (with Reetika Khera), Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 50, Issue No. 21, 23 May, 2015

Abstract: Following the introduction of universal access to free medicines and diagnostics at public health facilities in Rajasthan during 2011–13, we revisited the facilities surveyed by Banerjee et al (2004), and present the changes over the last decade. We find substantial improvement in infrastructure and the patient utilisation rate, but abysmally low utilisation of facilities primarily due to high absenteeism. We also present findings from fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand to bring out striking contrasts among these four northern states.

Awards

Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Doctoral Grant ($15,000)

One semester dissertation fellowship, Boston College

Felter Family Fund Summer Dissertation Fellowship, Boston College