| Paging Dr. Ricardo: A Dose of Economics for Healthier Pharmaceutical Production
Bates, Robert
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Online, Health Policy Outlook, February 1, 2008, 10p
"Efforts to increase the poor’s access to medicines are nothing new. Buying products from quality manufacturers and urging these manufacturers to lower prices for the poorest markets have worked best; other policies have largely failed or are still on the drawing board. But the latest strategy -- to encourage local pharmaceutical production -- could also be entirely counterproductive. It could lower drug quality and increase incentives for protectionism, ultimately reducing access. Production of drugs in poorer countries can make sense, but it must be driven by entrepreneurs responsive to market incentives." The author discusses the Pro and Con of improving access to pharmaceutical drugs in developing countries. Economist Roger Bates researches U.S. and international aid policy in Africa and the developing world.
Go to the
article at:
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.27447/pub_detail.asp
H8/01-08 posted February 29, 2008
|
