Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides: An Economic Approach
Ramanan Laxminarayan, editor

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"A volume such as this is likely to be a standard source of reference for some time. . . . Provides . . . thoughtful contributions to the economics of resistance. . . . Economists interested in the issue of resistance would do well to read this book."--Journal of Economic Literature; reviewed by Alistair Munro, University of East Anglia

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Hardcover $75.00
2003 / 320 pages
 ISBN 1-891853-51-1

Book Description

The increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, and pests to pesticides, threatens to undo some of the most remarkable advances made in public health and agriculture during the past century. Though the potential consequences of increased antibiotic and pesticide resistance are far reaching, regulatory efforts to address the problem are at a very early stage. Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides moves such discussions forward by presenting cutting edge research and the first comprehensive application of economic tools to analyze how antibiotics and pesticides should be used to maximize their value to society. Laxminarayan and his contributors explore lessons from past experiences with resistance, especially in agriculture. They consider what incentives would be ideal for the individuals who prescribe or apply antibiotics and pesticides, and what would be ideal for the firms engaged in developing and producing these products.

The chapters in this groundbreaking book reflect the fact that efforts to combat resistance will require contributions from a broad range of scholars and professionals, representing a broad range of expertise. The analysis demonstrates that, for all these participants, an understanding of economic issues is an essential complement to knowledge of medical or biological factors. The book provides economists with an overview of relevant scientific issues, as well as a variety of analytical approaches to studying the economics of resistance. It offers policymakers detailed analyses of the multiple dimensions of resistance and discusses the future strategies to combat and manage resistance. For professionals in medicine, public health, and agriculture, the book translates the economic approaches into usable guidance for daily practice and decisionmaking.

Book Reviews
"Work of this nature has been long overdue because of the increasing problems associated with the resistance of pests to pesticides and virulent bacteria to antibiotics in the last few decades. The papers in this collection are ground breaking and for the first time bring together various approaches that deal with the economic aspects of resistance including the economic costs of such resistance. . . . a 'must read' for all researchers and students in many fields and is bound to become a much sought after work on the subject because there is no collection to match this pioneering research."--Ecological Economics; reviewed by Clevo Wilson, University of Queensland
"A useful starting point for graduate students interested in topics of resistance, an excellent reference for individuals tackling practical or advanced research problems, and a valuable resource for policymakers striving for policy solutions. In all, it is an exceptional collection of work that provides insight on how antibiotics and pesticides could be used to enhance the well-being of society."--Journal of Environmental Quality; review by T. L. Marsh, Washington State University
"This book is important and interesting. It is one of those rare edited books in which virtually every chapter is of high quality. . . . [It] contains perspicacious commentaries by scholars on the individual chapters and these commentaries themselves are a pleasure to read. . . . I enthusiastically recommend this book to all readers who wish to learn more about the ways in which modern interdisciplinary analyses can shed light on the problems associated with the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics and pests to pesticides."--The Journal of Range Management; review by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Rochester Institute of Technology
"Interesting and diverse, the contents reflect the beginnings of an economics of resistance that is likely to grow in importance."--Marc Lipsitch, Harvard School of Public Health
"Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides focuses on an issue of pressing social importance. The book is an excellent contribution to a new and significant subdiscipline in economics. Addressing the urgent need for policy relevant research and input, it will interest scholars and professionals working in other, more established areas of resource, environmental, and agricultural economics, as well as in the biological and health sciences."--Eric Van Dusen, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, UC Berkeley
"Contains solid analysis and a good combination of theory and applications. It raises interesting questions that are in need of further investigation. It is likely to stimulate new research and make a significant contribution to policymaking."--Gérard Gaudet, Université de Montréal
"The book should be of interest not only to economists, but also to physicians and other health care personnel, epidemiologists and biologists."--Environment International
"The book is a welcome addition to the small existing literature on the effects of antibiotic and pesticide resistance. It provides a good review of both the analytical tools used to study the effects of resistance, as well as [a review] of the economic policy measures that might be available to fight resistance to antibiotics and pesticides."--Niklas Rudholm, Umea University, Sweden
"Multidrug resistant bacteria, the use of antibiotics as feed additives in the meat and poultry industry, mosquito transmitted diseases such as West Nile virus, and the introduction of pest-resistant, genetically-modified (GM) crops are nearly daily topics in newspapers, the internet, and television. Most news related to these topics is of the “doom and gloom” variety and suggests that we have lost the race against the microbes. Therefore, the publication of Battling Resistance to Antibiotics and Pesticides: An Economic Approach is both timely and visionary..." --Karen-Beth G. Scholthof, Texas A&M University
[read full review from Agricultural History - PDF format]
"I should state at the outset that, although the book in review is about the economics of battling evolved resistance to pesticides and antibiotics, I am a microbiologist and much more familiar with antibiotics than with pesticides. Furthermore, living in a country whose economy is handled by politicians with scant respect for rational analysis, I had not even realized that the economic approaches described here were possible..." --Carlos F. Amabile-Cuevas, LUSARA Foundation, Mexico City, Mexico 
[read full review from Bioscience - PDF format]