Research Paper on:
Business Cycles and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
its very nature, there will still be high demand for various prescription drugs. Second, this industry is not subjected to the same competitive forces as other industries are. Because of  the high costs of bringing drugs to market, most pharmaceutical companies enjoy a "monopoly" on a blockbuster drug once released - at least, until the patent wears off after a  few years. This can mean some very high profits for the companies lucky enough to have invented the drugs. Eli Lilly enjoyed such a wave during the 1980s with its  release of the anti-depressant Prozac; while Pfizer rode a similar wave during the late 1990s as it released Viagra. The purpose of  this essay is to compare trends among the pharmaceutical industry with that of business cycles that took place between 1980-2000. Although the economy had several dips and valleys during that  time, the pharmaceutical industry remained relatively stable - at least until the latter 1990s when even this "recession-proof" business found itself on the downturn. Business Trends - a Perspective  As America entered the 1980s, it continued to struggle economically. The inflationary times of the late 1970s spilled into the 1980s, continuing sliding  demand and unemployment. When Ronald Reagan entered office, he initiated his famous "supply side" economic theory with its "trickle-down" effect - but the economy still stagnated during the 1981-1982 recession.  Then the cycle moved upward. More jobs were created, business began looking up, spending increased. As a result, the United States enjoyed the largest peacetime economic expansion in history.  But things began turning south beginning in the mid-1980s. Overly ambitious real estate investors began putting up office buildings, fueled by the sudden