The transnational Sowa Rigpa industry in Asia: New perspectives on an emerging economy

Stephan Kloos, Harilal Madhavan, Tawni Tidwell, Calum Blaikie and Mingji Cuomu

Social Science & Medicine, 2020, vol. 245, issue C

Abstract: This article advances the hypothesis that “traditional” Asian pharmaceutical industries are rapidly growing in size and prominence in contemporary Asia, and identifies a lack of empirical data on the phenomenon. Addressing this gap, the article provides a quantitative outline and analysis of the Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan, Mongolian and Himalayan medicine) pharmaceutical industry in China, India, Mongolia and Bhutan. Using original data gathered through multi-sited ethnographic and textual research between 2014 and 2019, involving 232 industry representatives, policy makers, researchers, pharmacists and physicians, it assembles a bigger picture on this industry's structure, size and dynamics.

Keywords: Sowa Rigpa; Tibetan medicine; Pharmaceutical industry; Government policy; China; India; Mongolia; Bhutan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:245:y:2020:i:c:s0277953619306124

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112617

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