tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119816335163312523.post7459498757260548521..comments2023-04-27T04:39:45.647-04:00Comments on JT Thinks About Stuff: Book Review: Making ItJThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12170062950345779215noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119816335163312523.post-49808085659505454722017-06-13T14:22:26.086-04:002017-06-13T14:22:26.086-04:00It's an interesting point. On the one hand, th...It's an interesting point. On the one hand, this is just a market distortion: prices are high because that's what the traffic will bear. On the other hand, that sort of bears out that not having a policy is itself a policy.<br /><br />I don't know anything about the economics of drug manufacturing, which is specifically what <i>Making It</i> is about. I suspect that job losses in that sector are driven by automation more than anything else. I'm sure it's true that the relationship between the market price of a drug and the cost to manufacture it is non-existent.JThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170062950345779215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119816335163312523.post-25199009186530540412017-06-11T21:34:59.539-04:002017-06-11T21:34:59.539-04:00Pharmaceuticals. The US pays much more than the re...Pharmaceuticals. The US pays much more than the rest of the world. The reason the consumer doesn't rebel, however, is because they don't pay directly. They just care that they get the drug or treatment the doctor says they need. <br /><br />So it does exist, and I'm sure there were lobbyists involved.seanovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00288825590780391411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119816335163312523.post-64029591061415313772017-06-05T10:54:36.676-04:002017-06-05T10:54:36.676-04:00Japan, unlike the U.S., actually has an explicit p...Japan, unlike the U.S., actually has an explicit policy. Regulating imports seems like rather a heavyweight solution, though. It puts the burden directly on the individual consumer. <i>Making It</i> would, I think, argue for spreading the costs more broadly.<br /><br />Whether the U.S. would put up with it would depend on who lobbied whom, and how effectively.JThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12170062950345779215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119816335163312523.post-91743127257896649332017-06-04T23:53:44.147-04:002017-06-04T23:53:44.147-04:00Japan keeps some manufacturing. Imports are regula...Japan keeps some manufacturing. Imports are regulated, which reduces competition, and props up domestic companies. Japanese manufacturers will produce in China or Vietnam for export in volume to the States at very low prices. They will manufacture domestically and charge a lot to the average Joe Tokyo. You can't buy a Samsung TV, so you have to buy a Sony, and pay for it. You would think that this is not something that the US would ever put up with, but there is precedent in pharmaceuticals. The US pays way too much compared to the rest of the world to prop up profits. Then again, I don't really know where the drugs are actually manufactured. seanovanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00288825590780391411noreply@blogger.com