The majority of the world's population has limited access to needed medicines. The purpose of this paper is to explain why certain characteristics of the global pharmaceutical…
Abstract
Purpose
The majority of the world's population has limited access to needed medicines. The purpose of this paper is to explain why certain characteristics of the global pharmaceutical market have not served a large majority of potential consumers in the developing world.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a political economy analysis of evolutionary and regulatory aspects of both supply and demand conditions for global pharmaceuticals, it can be understood why most of the world's poor have limited access to basic medicines. The paper then turns to what avenues are available for improving access to medicines. An analysis of the chief proposed solutions, namely: pooled demand and relaxation of intellectual property rights, reveals their inadequacies. A third emerging avenue, the growing production of pharmaceuticals in the south, is examined through case studies of leading producers including India, China, and South America.
Findings
While each of the three options offers potential benefits, none is adequate to solve the problem – a new, perhaps combinatorial, approach will be needed to ensure that a wider global market for pharmaceuticals can be created.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into the political economy of the global pharmaceutical industry.
Details
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Amira Khattak, Nigel Haworth, Christina Stringer and Maureen Benson-Rea
This paper aims to examine the relationship between economic upgrading (implementing higher value-added activities) and social upgrading (improvements in workers’ rights and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between economic upgrading (implementing higher value-added activities) and social upgrading (improvements in workers’ rights and employment) of supplier firms in global value chains (GVCs) governed by multinational enterprises (MNEs). This paper answers Buckley and Ghauri’s (2004) and Buckley and Strange (2015) calls to incorporate other theoretical approaches within the international business (IB) literature. Furthermore, the paper also responds to Lee and Gereffi (2015) argument, published in Critical perspectives on international business, of the need to incorporate the social impact of upgrading in the IB literature.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with representatives from five supplier firms each in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as with industry representatives.
Findings
Governance patterns within GVCs can create the conditions for economic upgrading leading to social upgrading achievements. Institutional factors also affect the conditions for social upgrading. Although moving to higher value-added activities is critical for supplier firms, this does not necessarily lead to social upgrading. This paper’s research findings suggest that the combination of economic and social upgrading is positively associated with suppliers manufacturing high value-added products and operating in relational networks. In contrast, economic upgrading, by itself, was limited to those firms manufacturing low value-added products, typically those in captive networks.
Originality value
This research is among an emerging body of literature seeking to integrate the GVC literature with the IB field. Importantly, it also contributes to the GVC literature by providing insight into an under-theorized aspect – the relationship between social and economic upgrading.
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David Kimera and Fillemon Nduvu Nangolo
The purpose of this paper is to review maintenance practices, tools and parameters for marine mechanical systems that can be classified as plant, machinery and equipment (PME). It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review maintenance practices, tools and parameters for marine mechanical systems that can be classified as plant, machinery and equipment (PME). It provides an insight for the maintenance crew on which maintenance parameters and practices are critical for a given PME systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The review paper characterizes the various maintenance parameters and maintenance practices used onshore and offshore for PME and identifies the possible gaps.
Findings
A variety of maintenance techniques are being used in the marine industry such as corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance and condition-based maintenance. As marine vehicles (MV) get older, the most important maintenance parameters become maintenance costs, reliability and safety. Maintenance models that have been developed in line with marine mechanical systems have been validated using a single system, whose outcome could be different if another PME system is used for validation.
Research limitations/implications
There is a limited literature on MV maintenance parameters and maintenance characterization regarding mechanical systems. The maintenance practices or strategies of marine mechanical systems should be based on maintenance parameters that suit the marine industry for a given PME.
Originality/value
Based on the available literature, the paper provides a variety of maintenance framework, parameters and practices for marine mechanical systems. The paper further gives an insight on what maintenance parameters, strategies and platforms are given preference in the shipping industry.
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Frank Ridzi and Payal Banerjee
This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Indian immigrant information technology (IT) workers on the H-1B visa…
Abstract
This paper examines the experiences of welfare clients on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Indian immigrant information technology (IT) workers on the H-1B visa to analyze how public–private collaborations in the spirit and practice of outsourcing, i.e. systematic fragmentation and decentralization of both corporate and state activities, function as mechanisms for disciplining labor. Through an analysis of these groups’ parallel experiences with exploitative work and employers in the U.S., this paper identifies how outsourcing is not merely a business model for cross-border trade, but also a key principle, component, and outcome of policy-based neo-liberal economic restructuring.