Peer Review

Price insensitivity for branded EpiPen

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 8, 2025 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This exercise asks student teams to select the most important reason that consumers are insensitive to price changes in the branded EpiPen epinephrine auto-injector based on a before-class reading of a news article along with their understanding of monopoly v. competitive pricing and price elasticity of demand.

Type of Material:

Drill and Practice

Recommended Uses:

This material can be used for a variety of assignments
The activity is designed as a before-class team exercise to reinforce economic concepts and lectures.
The in-class activity is intended to take approximately 15 minutes of class time.

Technical Requirements:

None

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Students will:

understand market structure analysis, price elasticity of demand concepts, and basic close reading skills.
will also learn how to conduct the analysis of the monopoly v. competitive market structures.
should be able to explain that most consumers are so price insensitive to changes in the price of medicines because insurers, not consumers, pay virtually all of the price.
explain the concept of inelasticity

Target Student Population:

Introductory economics class
Introductory business class

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Students should have some understanding of monopoly pricing practices and the price elasticity of demand.
The required institutional knowledge of health insurance markets is presented in the news article on the topic and should not be known by students beforehand.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The article's topic as described is an excellent
Current example of the economic concepts of market structure analysis and price elasticity of demand concepts
Distinguishes between monopoly v. competitive market structures.
The material is appropriate for presenting the concept of inelasticity.

Concerns:

The link provided takes the reader to a report on the outlook of the health industry rather than to the article reading. The correct link is in the MERLOT Material Detail Description.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The material increases the potential for student learning of the concept of inelasticity.
As described, the subject of the article would be engaging
This is a relatively short read.
Many of the topics covered in an assigned textbook or lecture could be reinforced by the reading.

Concerns:

None.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

After reading the article, the student should see the relationship between barriers to entry, the formation of a monopoly, healthcare provider inertia, and how consumer behavior contributes to price inelasticity on the demand side.
The material is easy to use.
Users need to access the article from the MERLOT Description.
The topic is interesting to students.

Concerns:

None

Other Issues and Comments:: Be sure to access the article from the Material Description in MERLOT rather than from the SERC resource.
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