Taxing certain antibiotics could help efforts to tackle the escalating threat of antibiotic resistance in humans, according to a new study by the University of East Anglia's Centre for Competition Policy, Loughborough University and E.CA Economics. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global risk, causing an estimated 700,000 deaths annually.
A key AMR report previously warned that if unchecked, it could endanger 10 million lives a year and result in $100 trillion in lost economic output by 2050. Human use of antibiotics is the primary driver of AMR, with the majority in the UK prescribed via GPs. Classified as narrow or broad-spectrum, narrow-spectrum drugs target specific bacteria, helping slow AMR but require knowing the organism causing the infection.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics are used more generally when the organism is unknown, exacerbating AMR. The UK government report, published in 2016, recommended testing for pathogens before prescribing and using narrow-spectrum drugs when appropriate, with costly or time-consuming testing leading to overprescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics and contributing to AMR levels. In this new study, economists examined the feasibility of 'taxing' GP surgeries for using particular broad-spectrum drugs – the idea being that when they prescribe them, the amount charged to their drug budget would be higher by the amount of the tax.
Writing in the International Journal of Industrial Organization , they argue that because GP.
