Deborah A. Savage (Babson College, SavageDe@Babson.edu)
Abstract
This paper puts forward an economic theory of professions, and tests that theory against the history of pharmacy practice. The paper defines a profession as a network of strategic alliances across ownership boundaries among independent practitioners who share a core competency. It then differentiates among alternative economic institutions by examining their capabilities and strategies for coordinating exchange and production. In ther case of pharmacy, the pharmacist's central task has always been the certification of the strength and purity of medicinal drugs. Over time, changes in technology and institutions, coupled with evolving theories of disease, have altered the location of drug research, production and dispensing. Each episode of change has resulted in border skirmishes between pharmacy and medicine, which have spilled over onto other institutions.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Length: Date of creation: 21 Jun 1994 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpio:9406001
Note: The paper is in Word for Windows format. Contact details of provider: Web page: http://129.3.20.41
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (EconWPA).
Related research
Keywords:
Find related papers by JEL classification: L - Industrial Organization
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)