Politics, Power, Policy, and a Fair Society: The Failed Promise of the Asian Medicine Market

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World Review of Political Economy

Volume 11, Issue 3

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Politics, Power, Policy, and a Fair Society: The Failed Promise of the Asian Medicine Market

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Author(s): Malay Roy

Publication date (Print): 1 October 2020

Journal: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Asia, politics, policy, medicine, exclusion, welfare

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Abstract

Asymmetry in knowledge and bargaining power creates opportunities for duplicity and malpractice. Based on the experiences of the Asian medicine market, we propose that this economic sector is particularly susceptible to these vices. The visible hand of the government appears to be more effective in disciplining malefactors than the invisible hand of the market. This thesis is based on areas of knowledge such as political science, ethics, and philosophy that remain, in general, off limits to economists wishing to maintain the purity of the discipline.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50005553

Journal ID (jcode): worlrevipoliecon

Title: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2042-891X

ISSN: 2042-8928

Publication date (Print): 1 October 2020

Volume: 11

Issue: 3 ( doiID: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.issue-3 )

Pages: 357-376

Article

Publisher ID: worlrevipoliecon.11.3.0357

DOI: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.3.0357

SO-VID: 85f26b8f-b475-4e13-9588-6038741c634f

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lang eng

ScienceOpen disciplines: Political economics

Keywords: welfare,Asia,politics,policy,medicine,exclusion

References

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Bambra, C., D. Fox, and A. Scott-Samuel. 2005. “Towards a Politics of Health.” Health Promotion International 20 (2): 187–193.
Berger, D. 2014. “Corruption Ruins the Doctor-Patient Relationship in India.” British Medical Journal, May 8: 348.
Bromley, D. W. 1990. “The Ideology of Efficiency: Searching for a Theory of Policy Analysis.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 19 (1): 86–107.
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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Acemoglu, D., and P. Yared. 2010. “Political Limits of Globalization.” American Economic Review 100 (2): 83–88.

[2] Amin, S. 2001. “Imperialism and Globalization.” Monthly Review 53 (2): 7–24.

[3] Arrow, K. J. 1963. “Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care.” American Economic Review 53 (5): 941–973.

[4] Asher, S., and P. Novosad. 2017. “Politics and Local Economic Growth: Evidence from India.” American Economic Journal 9 (1): 229–273.

[5] Bambra, C., D. Fox, and A. Scott-Samuel. 2005. “Towards a Politics of Health.” Health Promotion International 20 (2): 187–193.

[6] Berger, D. 2014. “Corruption Ruins the Doctor-Patient Relationship in India.” British Medical Journal, May 8: 348.

[7] Bromley, D. W. 1990. “The Ideology of Efficiency: Searching for a Theory of Policy Analysis.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 19 (1): 86–107.

[8] Cameron, A., M. Ewen, D. Ross-Degnan, D. Ball, and R. Laing. 2008. “Medicine Prices, Availability, and Affordability in 36 Developing and Middle-Income Countries: A Secondary Analysis.” Accessed December 1, 2018. www.thelancet.com.

[9] Chauhan, N. 2012. “Competition Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sector in India.” Internship Project Report, National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

[10] Claramita, M., M. D. F. Nugraheni, J. van Dalen, and C. van der Vleuten. 2013. “Doctor–Patient Communication in Southeast Asia: A Different Culture?” Advances in Health Science Education: Theory and Practice 18 (1): 15–31.

[11] Dahl, R. 1961. Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

[12] Datta, N. 2012. “What Ails India's Health Care System.” Health Site, August 10. http://healthIndia.com/diseasescondition/whatailsIndia'shealthcaresystem/.

[13] Dixit, A. K. 1996. The Making of Economic Policy: A Transaction Cost Politics Perspective. London: MIT Press.

[14] Friedman, M. 1962. Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

[15] Friedman, M., and S. Kuznets. 1945. “Income from Independent Professional Practice.” NBER Working Paper.

[16] Harvard, T. H. 2015. “The Controversy over Rising Drug Prices: The Public's Views.” Working Paper of Chan School of Public Health.

[17] Hu, S. 2013. “Essential Medicine Policy in China: Pros and Cons.” Journal of Medicinal Economics. Accessed September 15, 2020. www.jpma.org.jp/english/parj/whole.html.

[18] Kaplinsky, R. 2005. Globalization, Poverty, and Inequality: Between a Rock and a Hard Place. 1st ed. Cambridge: Polity.

[19] Keser, C., and M. Willinger. 2007. “Theories of Behavior in Principal-Agent Relationships with Hidden Action.” European Economic Review 51 (6): 1514–1533.

[20] Kwon, H.-Y., and B. Godman. 2017. “Drug Pricing in South Korea.” Applied Health Economics and Health Policy 15 (4): 447–453.

[21] Kwon, S., Q.-Y. Meng, V. Tangcharoensathien, S. Limwattananon, and C. D. James. 2012. Direct Household Payments for Health Services in Asia and the Pacific: Impacts and Policy Options. Report from Asia Pacific Observatory on Health System and Policy.

[22] Lexchin, J. 2018. “The Pharmaceutical Industry in Contemporary Capitalism.” Monthly Review 69 (10): 37–50. https://monthlyreview.org/2018/03/01/the-pharmaceutical-industry-in-contemporary-capitalism/.

[23] Lodha, R., and A. Bhargava. 2010. “Financial Incentives and the Prescription of Newer Vaccines by Doctors in India.” Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 7 (1): 28–30.

[24] Lukes, S. 2004. “Lukes Theory of Power and Decision Making.” Accessed September 15, 2020. www.lotsofessays.com.

[25] Ly, C., and K. Yarrow. 2010. “Partnering to End Extreme Poverty in Asia through Universal Health Coverage.” Report from UN Bureau for Global Health Office of Health System. Accessed December 1, 2018. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1864/UHC-and-extreme-Poverty-Asia.pdf.

[26] Mandeville, B. (1714) 1988. The Fable of the Bees: Or Private Vices, Public Benefits. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Classics.

[27] Manuchehr, I. 2018. “Militarism and Globalization, Is There an Empirical Link?” Quality and Quantity 52 (3): 1349–1369.

[28] Martin, R. 2014. “What Differences Do Derivatives Make? From the Technical to the Political Conjuncture.” Culture Unbound 6 (1): 189–210.

[29] Nguyen, H. 2011. “The Principal-Agent Problems in Health Care: Evidence from Prescribing Patterns of Private Providers in Vietnam.” Health Policy and Planning 26 (Suppl 1): i53–i62.

[30] Offer, A. 2012a. “Self-Interest, Sympathy and the Invisible Hand: From Adam Smith to Market Liberalism.” Discussion papers in economic and social history, no. 101, August, University of Oxford.

[31] Offer, A. 2012b. “A Warrant for Pain: Caveat Emptor vs. the Duty of Care in American Medicine, c. 1970–2010.” Real-World Economics Review, no. 61: 85–99.

[32] Reich, M. R. 1995. “The Politics of Health Sector Reform in Developing Countries: Three Cases of Pharmaceutical Policy.” Health Policy 32 (1–3): 47–77.

[33] Saleem, F., M. A. Hassali, Q. Iqbal, M. Baloch, and P. R. Shanker. 2016. “Uncontrollable Medicine Prices in Pakistan.” The Lancet 388 (10060): 2602.

[34] Scherer, F. M. 2008. “April, Dynamics and Regulation of the Asian Pharmaceutical Industry.” Harvard Kennedy School, working paper no. RWP08-02.

[35] Schouten, B. C., and L. Meeuwesen. 2006. “Cultural Differences in Medical Communication: A Review of the Literature.” Elsevier Science. Accessed September 15, 2020. http//doi.org/10.11016.

[36] Shiffman, J., and S. Smith. 2007. “Generation of Political Priority for Global Health Initiative: A Framework and Case Study of Material Mortality.” Accessed September 15, 2020. www.thelancet.com.

[37] Smith, A. (1959) 1976. The Theory of Moral Sentiment. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[38] Stevens, P. 2004. “Disease of Poverty and the 10/90 Gap.” International Policy Network. Accessed September 15, 2020. www.policynetwork.net.

[39] Stiglitz, J. E., and A. Weiss. 1981. “Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information.” American Economic Review 71 (3): 393–410.

[40] Tabb, W. K. 1997. “Globalization Is an Issue, Power of Capital Is the Issue.” Monthly Review 49 (2): 1–35.

[41] The Economist. 2014. “The Good Midwife of Sichuan.” January 30. Accessed September 15, 2020. https://www.economist.com/china/2012/04/07/the-good-midwife-of-sichuan.

[42] The Times of India. 2011. “Prices of 348 Essential Drugs to Be Controlled.” November 18. Accessed September 15, 2020. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Prices-of-348-essential-drugs-to-be-controlled/articleshow/10774385.cms.

[43] Walzer, M. 1983. Spheres of Justice. New York: Basic Books.

[44] White, R. F. 2006. “Direct-to-Consumer Advertising and the Demise of the Ideal Model of Health Care.” The Independent Review 11 (2): 223–236.

[45] WHO (World Health Organization). 2011. The World Medicine Situation. Geneva: World Health Organization.

[46] Wong, J. 2004. Healthy Democracies: Welfare Politics in Taiwan and South Korea. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

[47] Wood, E. M. 1999. “Unhappy Families.” Monthly Review 51 (3): 1–12.

[48] World Bank. 2013. World Development Indicators 2013. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

[49] World Bank and World Health Organization. 2001. Dying for Change: Poor People's Experience of Health and Ill Health. Washington, DC: World Bank and World Health Organization Joint Report. Accessed September 15, 2020. https://www.who.int/hdp/publications/dying_change.pdf.