Response to the following problem:
1. What kind of market structure is involved for the sale of medicines and vitamins?
2. What can be said about barriers to entry in this market?
3. Might there be a change in market structure after the change in the law?
4. Explain the disadvantages of the abolition of resale price maintenance (RPM) for this market.
5. When RPM was abolished for book sales in 1995, the same concerns as those expressed in the above case were voiced. Since then, 10 per cent of bookshops have gone out of business. What conclusions might this help you to draw regarding the future of small pharmacies?
6. How does the rise of the Internet affect this situation?