ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN DEVELOPING ECONOMIES LIKE INDIA

This paper aims to address Antimicrobial Resistance in India from the economic perspective of two indicators: the relationship between mortality rates (male adult mortality per 1,000 male adults) and the GDP per employee, constant in PPP dollars for the year 2021, and the relationship between antibiotic resistance percentage and out-of-pocket expenditure, % of current health expenditure. Utilizing 32 years of available data for the first analysis and 22 years in the second analysis of the research, this work uses statistical analysis to identify patterns and insights from the data collected. It goes further in exploring the connection between health and economic development. Data have shown that higher mortality rates portray lower GDP per person employed and it is indicative of negative productivity effects. The study finds a bidirectional relationship between GDP per capita and adult mortality rates where lagged GDP affects mortality and lagged mortality affects GDP. Antibiotic resistance and healthcare expenditure also exhibit a strong influence on past values and indicate self-reinforcing trends rather than direct causal effects between the two. Such findings highlight the need for strategic policy interventions to mitigate the economic impact of AMR and to understand improvement in health outcomes in India, an agenda that could help increase the efficiency of health funds and antibiotic usage. To estimate both short- and long-term impacts, Vector Auto regression is used as a tool for modelling; this paper will delve deeper into the complex relationship between health and economic development.