Linkage Politics and the Persistence of National Policy Autonomy in Emerging Powers: Patents, Profits, and Patients in the Context of TRIPS Compliance

Olsen, Tricia D.; Sinha, Aseema

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2398487

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

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“…One way to address the issue is to start collaborative research projects with scholars of different regional expertise. I tried to do that in my article on India and Brazil (Olsen & Sinha, 2013).…”

Section: The Value Of Subnational Cross-regional Analysis: Exploring mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling Up: Beyond the Subnational Comparative Method for India

Sinha

2015

Studies in Indian Politics

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It no longer makes sense to talk of India without analyzing its infra-national diversity. Yet, this article not only argues for the need to build upon but also go beyond the subnational comparative analysis for India. I make three related points. 2 While scholars exploit the variation easily found at the provincial level in India, they must also take their subnational insights and generalize about India as a whole. Users of the subnational method must ask: How do the conclusions of subnational variation change or modify our understanding of India? Second, with economic liberalization and integration of markets within India, a focus on the subnational level makes forces that span across states and cities invisible. Is India becoming more integrated even as variation across its sub-state units is increasing? How can we understand both these phenomena in one analysis? 3 In order to understand both spatial differentiation and integration, we need to analyze diffusion and horizontal competition and processes of convergence across subnational units (Jenkins, 2000;Saez, 1999;Sinha, 2004). We can no longer look at policies at the subnational level without examining how policy innovation and e-governance spread across states. Last, the complexity of India's internal variation makes us hesitate to do cross-regional and comparative studies. What can we learn from the subnational diversity of India, Brazil, China or Mexico studied comparatively? Can we compare such different countries especially when their internal variation makes easy national-wide descriptions suspect? While difficult to do, I would encourage more crossregional and comparative studies that do not ignore the internal variation within India. 4 Overall, disaggregating the state to its lower levels may not be enough, and this article urges the need for a ʻscaling up framework' as a complementary strategy to scaling down. Such a ʻscaling up framework' must try to craft larger inferential statements about India, while keeping in mind its subnational diversity, the national or global context and the interstate experimentation relevant for the phenomenon under study.

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Section: The Value Of Subnational Cross-regional Analysis: Exploring mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling Up: Beyond the Subnational Comparative Method for India

Sinha

2015

Studies in Indian Politics

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Linkage Politics and the Persistence of National Policy Autonomy in Emerging Powers: Patents, Profits, and Patients in the Context of TRIPS Compliance

Olsen

Sinha

2014

SSRN Journal

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Abstract:The Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPS) has had a profound effect on industrialization and innovation, as well as access to medicines in cases of public health crisis such as HIV/AIDS. However, compliance with TRIPS has varied in developing countries, despite heightened international pressure. For instance, Brazil has pursued a coherent approach to its HIV/AIDS health crisis, while India has failed to take care of its HIV patients despite late compliance with the TRIPS agreement and the presence of business firms that produce the generic medicines for HIV/AIDS. This article suggests that divergence in TRIPS compliance is the result of a linkage politics, in which global variables (global rules, global supply chains and global networks) reach into the domestic political economy to alter the interests and capabilities of domestic actors. Indian pharmaceutical firms have developed external and export interests that lower incentives for the Indian state to design a nationally relevant public health policy, while the Brazilian health movement with its societal and external linkages puts pressure on the Brazilian state to defend the interests of its HIV patients even at the cost of patents. We conclude by suggesting that linkage politics is better at helping us understand compliance with international agreements than existing explanations, with important consequences for the effectiveness of international institutions.

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Linkage Politics and the Persistence of National Policy Autonomy in Emerging Powers: Patents, Profits, and Patients in the Context of TRIPS Compliance

Cited by 2 publications

References 34 publications

Scaling Up: Beyond the Subnational Comparative Method for India

Scaling Up: Beyond the Subnational Comparative Method for India

Linkage Politics and the Persistence of National Policy Autonomy in Emerging Powers: Patents, Profits, and Patients in the Context of TRIPS Compliance

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