The “sleeper” issue in medicine : Clem Tisdell’s academic scribbling on the economics of antibiotic resistance

Presents a brief account of the development of antibiotics so as to put such drugs in perspective. Then the issue of antibiotic resistance is considered and Tisdell’s economic analysis of the phenomenon is presented. Emphasis is placed on the inter‐generational trade‐off that is associated with this important social issue. The paper concludes by discussing Australia’s institutional arrangements for funding pharmaceutical, and hence antibiotic, expenditures.