Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

Promoting Medical Tourism ● 123Table 5.7 Protection of property rights and intellectual propertyCountry Property rights Intellectual propertyArgentina 3.1 (110) 3.1 (71)Chile 5.3 (31) 3.8 (45)Costa Rica 4.5 (54) 3.7 (49)Cuba n.a. n.a.India 5.3 (32) 4.0 (41)Jordan 5.2 (35) 4.5 (28)Malaysia 5.7 (23) 5.1 (20)S. Africa 5.8 (10) 5.0 (23)Philippines 4.2 (64) 2.8 (84)Thailand 4.9 (43) 4.1 (37)6.5 (1)Germany6.4 (1)U.S.2.6 (117)Venezuela1.7 (117)GuyanaNote : Survey of perceptions elicited responses to the following statements.Property rights, including over financial assets, are (1 poorly defined and notprotected by law, 7 clearly defined and well protected by law); intellectualproperty protection in your country (1 is weak or nonexistent, 7 is equal tothe world’s most stringent). Ranking among 117 countries is in parentheses.Source : World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report 2005–6,(New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), tables 6.03, and 6.04.they must be made to feel it is fair. There also has to be bankruptcy law,as well as accounting and financial disclosure.Tax law must also exist for medical tourism to develop. Althoughchapter 7 discusses taxes in the context of fiscal policy, here the role of taxesin the economy is highlighted. The tax system promotes business investmentand risk, and thus is crucial for the economy. It is useful if it is perceivedas neutral, without subsidies for some kinds of firms or industrialorganizations. Taxes should not favor or disfavor anybody or anything asthat leads to inefficiencies. As Kennett noted, “One of the most importantfeatures of an overall legal system must be the creation of a tax regime thatis visible, consistent, and, to some extent, regarded as fair.” 97When the tax system in developing countries is not fair and is inconsistentlyapplied, it is usually as a result of corruption. The presence ofcorruption in the public sector erodes trust in the authorities to abide bylaws and to enforce them. Under those circumstances, a country relies onsemicorrupt methods such as personal contact that depends on family ties,gifts, and favors. This, of course, is detrimental for economic growth. Withrespect to tax evasion, perceptions that tax evasion is low are higher in Chile(ranked fourth in the world) than the United States or Switzerland, ranked