CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2007
| Author | Szabo, Lidia |
|---|---|
| Title | The EU and pharmaceutical parallel trade: an actor-based analysis of EU-level policy outcomes |
| Summary | My research project attempts to show why the pharmaceutical manufacturers have not been able to impose their preferences at the EU level in the policy-process of parallel trade. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have well-organized interest representation in Brussels, and the lobby power of the industry is high. Therefore, it is a puzzle why the voice of the manufacturers has not been heard yet in the policy process, why they cannot achieve the elimination of the parallel trade of medicines. Additionally, theoretical analysis about the role and contribution of interest groups in the policy-process of parallel trade is missing, which could be edifying for the stakeholders. I use the Policy Network Approach in my research. First, I investigate the positions of the interest groups and their allies. Next, I discuss and explain the policy outcomes, and I analyze the lobby strategy of the pharmaceutical manufacturers with the help of the literature of interest groups. Next, I add the approach of Scharpf on negative integration to my explanation to get a broader understanding of policy outcomes. My research concludes that the Policy Network Analysis is a constructive approach to the study of the EU policy making, as it can shed light on the fact that the activity of interest groups has influenced deeply the policy-process of parallel trade. However, the lobby strategy of manufacturers lacks efficiency. Furthermore, they aim at positive integration, which is difficult to reach at the EU level. |
| Supervisor | Annabelle Littoz-Monnet |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2007/szabo_lidia.pdf |
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