This paper seeks to explain local variations in the use of antibiotics in the community and to assess the welfare loss due to heterogeneous attitudes towards the risk of bacterial infections and resistance. Significant differences are observed in the per capita antibiotic consumption measured in...

This paper investigates regional variations in outpatient antibiotic use and provides a first empirical analysis based on Swiss data. We compare Swiss antibiotic consumption with antibiotic use in other European countries and present descriptive statistics at cantonal level. Preliminary findings...

Because of bacterial resistance, current antibiotic consumption is reinforced by past use, and future utility is lower. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence on habit and addictive behavior toward antibiotics by exploring variations in the average consumption of antibiotics across...

Regulation of prescription and dispensing of antibiotics has a twin purpose: to enhance access to antibiotic treatment and to reduce inappropriate use of drugs. Nevertheless, incentives on antibiotics to dispensing physicians may lead to inefficiencies. We sketch a theoretical model of the...

We model demand for di¤erent classes of antibiotics used for respiratory infections in outpatient care using a linear approximate almost ideal demand system approach. We compute elasticities to socioeconomic determinants of consumption and own- and cross- price elasticities between di¤erent...

Outpatient antibiotic consumption widely vary across Europe. The investigation of what lies behind such variation may help to identify sources of inefficiency. Comparable data on antibiotic use in 21 European countries between 1997 and 2005 are provided by the European Surveillance of...