Intellectual property rights (IPR) protection for pharmaceuticals has been comprehensive and strict since the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995 and the subsequent implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. This study investigated the relationship between the level of IPR and national pharmaceutical expenditure using panel data of 22 OECD countries from 1970 to 2009. The patent index was used to measure the level of national protection for IPR along with other covariates: GDP per capita, the percentage of population aged over 65, number of doctors, proportion of public financing among total pharmaceutical expenditure, under-5 mortality, price index, and period indicators. The regression analysis results showed that the level of IPR protection was significantly correlated with pharmaceutical spending even after controlling for various factors that affect pharmaceutical expenditure. The results were consistent in OLS regression and GLS regression. However, the effect of IPR was stronger and more significant in countries with a relatively small-sized pharmaceutical market than in those with big market. Many developed countries incur a financial burden due to rapidly growing pharmaceutical expenditure; therefore, the results of this study present the possibility that stronger IPR would produce welfare loss in developed countries.
GrabowskiH.Patents, innovation and access to new pharmaceuticals.J Int Econ Law. 2002;
5(4):849.
2.
El-SaidHEl-SaidM.TRIPS-plus implications for access to medicines in developing countries: lessons from Jordan–United States Free Trade Agreement.J World Intellect Prop. 2007;
10(6):438–475.
3.
AkaleephanCWibulpolprasertSSakulbumrungsilRet al.
Extension of market exclusivity and its impact on the accessibility to essential medicines, and drug expense in Thailand: analysis of the effect of TRIPS-plus proposal.Health Policy. 2009;
91(2):174–182.
4.
BorrellJ-R.Pricing and patents of HIV/AIDS drugs in developing countries.Appl Econ. 2007;
39(4):505–518.
5.
ChenYPuttitanunT.Intellectual property rights and innovation in developing countries.J Dev Econ. 2005;
78(2):474–493.
6.
KessomboonNLimpananontJKulsomboonVMaleewongUEksaengsriAPaothongP.Impact on access to medicines from TRIPS-plus: a case study of Thai-US FTA.Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2010;
41(3):667–677.
7.
MalpaniR.All costs, no benefits: how the US-Jordan Free Trade Agreement affects access to medicines.J Generic Med. 2009;
6(3):206–217.
8.
NoguesJJ.Social costs and benefits of introducing patent protection for pharmaceutical drugs in developing countries.Dev Econ. 1993;
31(1):24–53.
9.
JungYKwonS.The effects of intellectual property rights on access to medicines and catastrophic expenditure.Int J Health Serv. 2015;
45(3):507–529.
10.
Commission on Human Rights. The Impact of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on Human Rights (General Comment 14).
Geneva,
Switzerland: United Nations; 2001.
11.
HogerzeilHSamsonMCasanovasJRahmani-OcoraL.Is access to essential medicines as part of the fulfilment of the right to health enforceable through the courts?Lancet. 2006;
368(9532):305–311.
12.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Pharmaceutical Pricing Policies in a Global Market. Paris, France: OECD; 2008.
13.
CockburnIM.Intellectual Property Rights and Pharmaceuticals: Challenges and Opportunities for Economic Research. The Economics of Intellectual Property. Geneva, Switzerland: World Intellectual Property Organization; 2009.
14.
GerdthamUGJönssonBMacFarlanMOxleyH.The determinants of health expenditure in the OECD countries: a pooled data analysis.Dev Health Econ Public Policy. 1998;
6:113.
15.
GerdthamU-GSøgaardJAnderssonFJönssonB.An econometric analysis of health care expenditure: a cross-section study of the OECD countries.J Health Econ. 1992;
11(1):63–84.
16.
HitirisTPosnettJ.The determinants and effects of health expenditure in developed countries.J Health Econ. 1992;
11(2):173–181.
17.
JönssonBEckerlundI. Why do different countries spend different amounts on health care. In: S. Jacobzone, ed. A Disease-based Comparison of Health Systems: What Is Best and at What Cost. Paris, France: OECD; 2003:107–119.
18.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD Health Statistics 2017. OECD; 2017.
19.
GinarteJCParkWG.Determinants of patent rights: a cross-national study.Res Policy. 1997;
26(3):283–301.
PugatchMP.Measuring the strength of national pharmaceutical intellectual property regimes: creating a new pharmaceutical IP index.J World Intellect Prop. 2006;
9(4):373–391.
22.
AllredBBParkWG.Patent rights and innovative activity: evidence from national and firm-level data.J Int Bus Stud. 2007;
38(6):878–900.
23.
AwokuseTOYinH.Does stronger intellectual property rights protection induce more bilateral trade? Evidence from China’s imports.World Dev. 2010;
38(8):1094–1104.
24.
BlydeJS.Assessing the Impacts of Intellectual Property Rights on Trade Flows in Latin America.
Washington, DC:
Inter-American Development Bank; 2006.
25.
IvusO.Do stronger patent rights raise high-tech exports to the developing world?J Int Econ. 2010;
81(1):38–47.
McCalmanP.International diffusion and intellectual property rights: an empirical analysis.J Int Econ. 2005;
67(2):353–372.
28.
VarsakelisNC.The impact of patent protection, economy openness and national culture on R&D investment: a cross-country empirical investigation.Res Policy. 2001;
30(7):1059–1068.
29.
ChungHMuntanerC.Political and welfare state determinants of infant and child health indicators: an analysis of wealthy countries.Soc Sci Med. 2006;
63(3):829–842.
30.
ConleyDSpringerKW.Welfare state and infant mortality.Am J Sociol. 2001;
107(3):768–807.
31.
MollerSHuberEStephensJDBradleyDNielsenF.Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies.Am Sociol Rev. 2003;
68:22–51.
32.
ChangHJ.Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective.
London, England:
Anthem Press; 2002.
33.
CorreaCM.Intellectual Property Rights, the WTO, and Developing Countries: the TRIPS Agreement and Policy Options.
London, England:
Zed Books; 2000.
34.
SagongJSonJ.The determinants and effect of health care expenditure [in Korean]. Korean Health Econ Rev. 1999;
5:1–23.
35.
DanzonPMTowseA.Differential pricing for pharmaceuticals: reconciling access, R&D and patents.Int J Health Care Finance Econ. 2003;
3(3):183–205.
36.
BacCLe PenY. An international comparison of health care expenditure determinants. Paper presented at: 10th International Conference on Panel Data; July 5–6, 2002; Berlin, Germany.
37.
LeuRE.The public-private mix and international health care costs. Public Priv Health Serv. 1986;
79(2):41–63.
38.
ChristiansenTBechMLauridsenJNielsenP.Demographic Changes and Aggregate Health-care Expenditure in Europe. European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes; 2006.
