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Analysis of prices paid by low-income countries - how price sensitive is government demand for medicines?

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  • Srivastava, Divya
  • McGuire, Alistair

Abstract

Access to medicines is an important health policy issue. This study analyses the demand for medicines in low-income countries from the perspective of the prices paid by public authorities. The analysis draws on World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Action International (HAI) 2006 data on procurement prices of medicines across 16 low-income countries covering 48 branded drugs and 18 therapeutic categories. Variation in prices, the mark-ups over marginal costs and estimation of price elasticities allows assessment of whether these elasticities are correlated with a country’s national income. Using the Ramsey pricing rule, the study’s findings suggest that substantial crosscountry variation in prices and mark-ups exist, with price elasticities ranging from -1 to -2, which are weakly correlated with national income. Government demand for medicines thus appears to be price elastic, raising important policy implications aimed at improving access to medicines for patients in low-income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Srivastava, Divya & McGuire, Alistair, 2013. "Analysis of prices paid by low-income countries - how price sensitive is government demand for medicines?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 54487, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:54487
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/54487/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    medicines; low-income countries; pharmaceutical policy; health policy; government procurement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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