British pharmaceuticals : a cautionary tale

Abstract

British pharmaceuticals is generally represented as a successful sector which illustrates the potential of knowledge-intensive, high-value-added activities. this article presents a revisionist account based on evidence and argument. Pharmaceuticals is a small sector which combines high-value-added and average wages to benefit capital not labour. the knowledgebase in the laboratory creates imitative product with marketing then applied to capture social expenditure. when product-market growth slows, the sector restructures defensively without solving its problems.