The viva voice examination of Ms Ekta Pandey (2015HUZ8126) has been scheduled for Tuesday, 21 September 2021 at 3 pm. The title of the thesis is  "Essays in Health Economics". The viva shall be conducted online at this link . All are cordially invited.

ABSTRACT

The thesis is comprised of seven chapters. The thesis starts by estimating the incidence of catastrophic health payments and further investigates its impact on food consumption. In the next chapter, hidden poverty created by high out-of-pocket payments is analyzed across various states and regions. In an attempt to reduce the burden of out-of-pocket expenses, the contribution of alternate systems of medicine (AYUSH) is also explored in this chapter. Based on the findings, which highlight high interstate variation in the hidden poverty estimates, the next part of the thesis uses exploratory geospatial techniques to analyze the variation in net poverty impact due to out- of-pocket payments across various states and union territories. Medicines form the largest component of health expenditure in India. Intellectual property rights on medicines are linked to higher prices of drugs, making them unaffordable and inaccessible. Based on this premise, the next section of the thesis explores the impact of changes in the patent act (following the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: TRIPS agreement) on the innovative potential and patenting trend in the pharmaceutical sector across various countries. The last part of the thesis discusses the importance of compulsory licenses in public health. The aim is to evaluate policy approaches that can reduce medicine prices, as they form the largest component of health expenditure in India. The ultimate goal is to increase health care access in India by making it more affordable and equitable.