Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

Promoting Medical Tourism ● 119Undeveloped financial institutions not only restrain the development ofmedical tourism, but can also make international trade harmful to theoverall economy. As Stiglitz and Charlton pointed out, lack of physicalinfrastructure constrains the free flow of resources within labor markets andacross regions, a crucial aspect of competing in the global markets. 89 To theextent that financial institutions are undeveloped, it prohibits people fromhaving access to credit and participating in business, and the industries inwhich the country might have comparative advantage cannot respond todemand because of bottlenecks.Among the countries under study, South Africa ranks highest withrespect to financial market sophistication while Malaysia ranks highest interms of the ease of access to loans (table 5.5). For both indicators of thebanking industry, all countries fall more or less in the middle range withthe exception of Argentina, that ranks 111th globally in terms of access toloans (this is the result of residual financial issues from the crisis of 2002).Advantage V: Developed Political and Legal InstitutionsOn the Dubai Heathcare City website, political and economic stability istouted in the second introductory paragraph. 90 That is because a countrywith a political system characterized by peaceful transitions, where legalinstitutions are developed and respected, and where the authorities manageto maintain law and order, has an advantage in the provision of medicaltourism. Clearly, tourists will be drawn to a region without risks of coups,revolutions, or uprisings. They will want assurance that rule of law existsand that law and order can provide a safe environment for their medicalservices. Western patients will go to a country where the local politics arenot distasteful to them. They want to know that corruption is not rampantenough to threaten their personal interests. International patients don’twant to think that a simple change in government will bring about nationalizationof the very hospital where they have scheduled knee replacementsurgery. They want to know there is protection of property rights andpeaceful changes in government. Indicators of the political environment,the legal system, the provision of law and order, and corruption in tendestination countries are studied below.Political EnvironmentMature democracies have multiparty political systems and hold regular electionsto ensure adequate representation of the population. Leaders cater tothe electorate and are sensitive to the demands and needs of the people.