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American Economic Review Vol. 96 No. 5 2006

Estimating the Effects of Global Patent Protection in Pharmaceuticals: A Case Study of Quinolones in India

Shubham Chaudhuri1; Pinelopi K. Goldberg2; Panle Jia3

1 World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. · 2 Department of Economics, Yale University, Box 208264, New Haven, CT 06520, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis and Development. · 3 Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142.

Abstract

Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights, the World Trade Organization members are required to enforce product patents for pharmaceuticals. In this paper we empirically investigate the welfare effects of this requirement on developing countries using data for the fluoroquinolones subsegment of the systemic anti-bacterials segment of the Indian pharmaceuticals market. Our results suggest that concerns about the potential adverse welfare effects of TRIPS may have some basis. We estimate that the withdrawal of all domestic products in this subsegment is associated with substantial welfare losses to the Indian economy, even in the presence of price regulation. The overwhelming portion of this welfare loss derives from the loss of consumer welfare.

DOI
10.1257/aer.96.5.1477
Volume
96
Issue
5
Pages
1477-1514
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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