scholarly journals A view on the treatment of collusive and restrictive practices in competition policy

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-35
Author(s):  
W. D. Reekie
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Uniform Pricing ◽  
National Drug ◽  
National Drug Policy ◽  
Prescription Medicines ◽  
The Right

South African competition policy is in a state of flux. While professing to serve so-called national interest, legislation has tended to overlook the principles of economic efficiency and consumer welfare. The South African National Drug policy is a case in point. The best defence against collusion and restrictive practices in business is competition, but the Department of Health favours blanket rules like uniform pricing and a fixed fee-for-service.  Thus supermarkets may not employ dispensing pharmacists, and uniform price legislation would make it illegal to negotiate discounts on prescription medicines with retailers.  As a rule consumers are the losers.  Many fallacies are contained in the debate on the "right" competition policy for South Africa. For example, a firm may appear big simply because the domestic market is small.

História do Medicamento Genérico no Brasil

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Erick De Oliveira Lemes ◽  
Naara Sabrine Vaz de Almeida ◽  
Paulo Henrique Pires Eubanks ◽  
Sebastião Robson de Resende ◽  
Wanessa Cristina Martins da Luz
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Active Ingredient ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Generic Medicine ◽  
Generic Medicines ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
National Drug ◽  
National Drug Policy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

Os medicamentos são considerados indispensáveis à saúde, ocupando o centro das atenções na atualidade, uma vez que seu modo de utilizaçãoreflete o efeito terapêutico. Os medicamentos genéricos estão disponíveis em preços acessíveis, graças à Política Nacional de Medicamentos (PNM), que passou a ser implementada pelo Governo Federal desde 1999 para que houvesse possibilidades de escolhas para os pacientes na aquisição de medicamentos de qualidade. Os medicamentos genéricos podem ser intercambiáveis com os de referências, quando está escrito na receita médica o nome do princípio ativo. Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever a história dos genéricos no Brasil, a fim de contribuir com informações acerca da importância destes medicamentos e segurança na utilização pela população, desmitificando o fato de serem mais baratos em decorrência da falta de qualidade, eficácia ou segurança. Esta investigação foi caracterizada como pesquisa bibliográfica, a amostra em estudo foi composta por um conjunto de publicações contidas em periódicos, livros-textos, monografias, dissertações e teses. Com a realização deste estudo foi possível aferir que o medicamento genérico é tão relevante quanto o de referência. As pessoas necessitam saber as vantagens em se adquirir os medicamentos genéricos, por meio de campanhas de conscientização, bem como ter conhecimento de que o genérico tem o mesmo princípio em relação ao de referência. Campanha de conscientização se faz necessária para a população a respeito dos medicamentos genéricos.Palavras-chave: Medicamento. Segurança. BioequivalênciaAbstractMedicines are considered indispensable to health, occupying the center of attention nowadays, its mode of use reflects the therapeutic effect.Generic medicines are available at affordable prices thank to the national drug policy, which has been implemented by the Federal Government since 1999 so that there are possibilities for patients to choose the right medicines. Generic medicines can be interchangeable with those of reference when the name of the active ingredient is written on the prescription. This work aimed to describe the history of generics in Brazil, in order to contribute information about the importance of these drugs and safety in use by the population, demystifying the fact that they are cheaper due to the lack of quality, effectiveness or safety. This research was characterized as a bibliographic research, the study sample was composed by a set of publications contained in periodicals, textbooks, monographs, dissertations and theses. With the accomplishment of this study it was possible to verify that the generic medicine is as relevant as the reference. People need to know the advantages in acquiring generic medicines through awareness campaigns, as well as being aware that the generic has the same principle in relation to the reference. Awareness campaigns are necessary for the population regarding generic medicines.Keywords: Medications. Safety. Bioequivalence

scholarly journals The Regulations relating to Foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children (R 991): A Formula for the Promotion of Breastfeeding or Censorship of Commercial Speech?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Lize Mills
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Young Children ◽  
South African ◽  
Commercial Speech ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Infant Formulae ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right ◽  
Advertising And Promotion

The regulation of commercial speech in the interests of public health is an issue which recently has become the topic of numerous debates. Two examples of such governmental regulation are the subjects of discussion in this article, namely the prohibition on the advertising and promotion of tobacco products, as well as the proposed prohibition on the advertising and promotion of infant formulae and other foods and products marketed as being suitable for infants or young children. The article seek to evaluate the recently proposed regulations published in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act in the light of the reasoning by the Supreme Court of Appeal in the British American Tobacco South Africa (Pty) Limited v Minister of Health 463/2011) [2012] ZASCA 107 (20 June 2012) decision, and in particular in terms of the section 36 test of reasonableness and proportionality found in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. It argues that, although the South African Department of Health must be applauded for its attempt at improving public health in the country, some of the provisions of the proposed regulations are not constitutionally sound. It will be contended that, despite the fact that the promotion of breastfeeding is a laudable goal, the introduction only of measures which restrict the right to advertise these types of products will not necessarily achieve this objective.

The Politics of Pharmaceutical Reform: The Case of the Philippine National Drug Policy

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Bessie Lee
Keyword(s):  
Policy Process ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
National Drug ◽  
National Drug Policy

A national drug policy was formulated in the Philippines after the rise of the Aquino government in 1986. In this article, the author discusses the pharmaceutical situation before the policy was announced, and argues that the major push for a policy came from the confluence of four factors: a change in the structures of political power, especially the rise of a new government and the empowerment of health non-governmental organizations as new participants in the policy process; members of the Department of Health who pushed for a policy; a more conducive social and political climate, both locally and internationally; and a growing body of knowledge about the drug issue. The author discusses the policy's achievements as well as the limitations that have beset the policy from 1987 to 1992.

Victim Participation in Parole Proceedings in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Mujuzi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
South African ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Procedure ◽  
Prison Inmate ◽  
Parole Board ◽  
Victims Of Crime ◽  
The Right

South African law provides for circumstances in which victims of crime may participate in the criminal justice system at the investigation, prosecution (trial), sentencing and parole stages. In South Africa, a prison inmate has no right to parole although the courts have held that they have a right to be considered for parole. In some cases, the victims of crime have a right to make submissions to the Parole Board about whether the offender should be released on parole. Section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 provides for the right of victims of crime to participate in parole proceedings. The purpose of this article is to discuss section 299A and illustrate ways in which victims of crime participate in the parole process. The author also recommends ways in which victims’ rights in section 299A of the Criminal Procedure Act could be strengthened.

Emergency LMS Training During COVID-19 at an African University of Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-113
Author(s):  
Leanri van Heerden
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Delivery Mode ◽  
Skills Acquisition ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Participant Perspectives

After the #FeesMustFall strikes that have been haunting South African universities since 2015, Instructional Designers felt pretty confident that they can drive their institutions through any dilemma. Along came the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic and they realised they have been playing in the kiddie pool all along. On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown level 5 to start on 26 March 2020 (Department of Health, 2020). Three days head start for a three-week lockdown (which was eventually extended till the time of writing) was a logistical nightmare for even the most technology driven universities. All staff were sent home with only enough time to grab their office plants and laptops and no idea how they were going to move forward. The issue with staff and students all working from home is that the lecturers working at the Central University of Technology (CUT), being primarily a face-to-face delivery university, was completely unprepared for moving their traditional and blended approaches to completely online. In their study, Mogeni, Ondigi and Mufo (2020) found that most of the investigated teachers were not empowered enough to deliver instruction fully online and either needed to be retrained, receive further specialised training or be trained completely from scratch. A lack of confidence in the delivery mode of instruction will cause even the most knowledgeable subject spcialist to fail in their task. At the CUT lecturers needed a way of quickly acquiring the necessary skills to deliver their content and assessments on the institution Learning Management System (LMS). The aim of this paper is to measure participant perspectives of an emergency intervention to facilitate the process of online delivery skills acquisition quickly and online. To ensure relevant results a systematic process of designing an intervention and recording participant perspectives is necessary. This extended abstract will take a look at the methods used to drive the paper, briefly discuss the results and findings, and lastly explore the implications and significance of the research for the use of higher education institutions for emergency LMS training. Keywords: LMS training; e-Learning; Online Instruction; Instructional Design

Barriers to Entry and Implications for Competition Policy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Roberts
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Barriers To Entry ◽  
Access To Finance ◽  
African Context ◽  
Regulatory Barriers ◽  
Consumer Switching

Competition requires rivals. While this rivalry may come from imports, the development of local capabilities and productive capacity for rivalry, including by black industrialists in the South African context, means understanding the barriers to entry that local producers must overcome. Barriers to entry are also critical for the correct balance between the risks of over- and under-enforcement and are one reason why it has been recommended that countries should adopt different standards for competition evaluation. This chapter draws on studies of barriers to entry in different markets in South Africa to consider the nature and extent of these barriers and the implications for competition policy. It highlights issues related to regulatory barriers, consumer switching costs and branding, routes to market, and vertical integration, as well as economies of scale and access to finance.

Theory in closer contact with industrial life: American institutional economists on competition theory and policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Matthew T. Panhans ◽  
Reinhard Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Consumer Welfare ◽  
Antitrust Enforcement ◽  
Mainstream Economic ◽  
Competition Theory ◽  
One Stage ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Experimental Attitude

Abstract This paper investigates the views on competition theory and policy of the American institutional economists during the first half of the 20th century. These perspectives contrasted with those of contemporary neoclassical and later mainstream economic approaches. We identify three distinct dimensions to an institutionalist perspective on competition. First, institutionalist approaches focused on describing industry details, so as to bring theory into closer contact with reality. Second, institutionalists emphasized that while competition was sometimes beneficial, it could also be disruptive. Third, institutionalists had a broad view of the objectives of competition policy that extended beyond effects on consumer welfare. Consequently, institutionalists advocated for a wide range of policies to enhance competition, including industrial self-regulation, broad stakeholder representation within corporations, and direct governmental regulations. Their experimental attitude implied that policy would always be evolving, and antitrust enforcement might be only one stage in the development toward a regime of industrial regulation.

scholarly journals The transition to general management in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Mallaby ◽  
Gavin Price ◽  
Karl Hofmeyr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
General Manager ◽  
General Management ◽  
General Managers ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
The Right

Orientation: Understanding the nature and challenges of making the transition from a functional role to a general management role in South African organisations.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to gain insight into the obstacles that affect the transition from functional to general management and identify steps that may be taken to overcome these challenges.Motivation for the study: One of the most difficult crossroads for a manager is making the shift from being a functional specialist to becoming a general manager. New competencies and behaviours are required, as well as a more strategic mind set. If the transition is not made successfully, the manager and the organisation suffer.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design was used consisting of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, with 19 senior business leaders who had successfully made the transition. The interviews were used to gather insights into the challenges they faced during their transitions, and how these were overcome.Main findings: To make the transition successfully, functional managers need to gain relevant experience to prepare them for the broader scope of a general management role. They need to develop appropriate skills, attitudes and personal characteristics. Mentoring is an effective development process. Newly appointed general managers need to learn to let go of control while maintaining ownership, build relationships and strike the right balance between strategic thinking and execution. There are unique aspects of being a general manager in South Africa, such as dealing with Black Economic Empowerment and challenges of race and identity, given the country’s history.Practical and managerial implications: Specific interventions are suggested which are directed at both aspiring general managers and organisations seeking to assist middle managers to make the transition to general managers.Contribution: This study contributes to knowledge concerning the skills and attributes required by potential general managers, and the practical steps to be taken by South African organisations to facilitate the development of general managers. 

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