Economics and HIV: The Sickness of Economics

ISBN-13: 9781138904880 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 206 str.

Deborah Johnston

Opis

This book explains how, and why, economics has been applied to a terrible pandemic, using a range of examples mostly drawn from the region most affected, sub-Saharan Africa. Part I shows that microeconomic approaches have found fertile ground in a public health approach that 'blames' individual choices for HIV transmission. Despite their attractiveness, however, these approaches fail to explain contemporary patterns of HIV prevalence, illustrating the importance of factors that are excluded from the standard micro-economic approach. Part II of the book looks at our problems in understanding the economic impact of AIDS, and explains why economists cannot agree if epidemic disease is a good or bad thing for economic development. In both sections of the book, the potential for alternative approaches is shown, and the book ends by arguing that a political economy approach can bring meaningful insights to our understanding of the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS.

Spis treści

1. Economics and HIV/AIDS: Failed Opportunity?  Part I: The Economics of HIV Transmission: Fashions and Fads  2. HIV Transmission and the Link to the Development Agenda  3. HIV Transmissions and the Individual: 'Choosing' to be HIV Positive?  4. Wealth, Education and Occupation: How to Understand the Data on Socio-Economic Characteristics and HIV Status  5. A New Role for Economics in Understanding HIV Perevalence  Part II: The Economic Impact of AIDS: The Past the Present and the Future  6. The Economic Impact of Disease: Good or Bad?  7. The Impact of AIDS on Farms and Firms  8. Understanding AIDS Impacts on Individuals and Hoseholds  9. A Political Economy Perspective on the Economic Impact of AIDS  10. A New Approach to Economics?

O autorze

Deborah Johnston is Senior Lecturer in Development Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK.