Hanna Vincze
Patents on Life-Saving Medicines
Mentor: Dr. Tamara Trafton
| What is the role of economics in development? When do graphs get to decide who lives and who dies? This presentation looks into the economic rationale behind patents on life-saving medicines. In the context of the AIDS epidemic of post-Apartheid South Africa, I examine how the market for essential medicines in a low-income population exhibits a constant unit elasticity of demand, and how this impacts the tradeoff between profits and deadweight loss. Consequently, I argue that patent protection for ARV’s is unwarranted and that life-saving care should be accessible to all segments of the market. |
