The macroeconomics of targeting: The case of an enduring epidemic

What is the right balance among policy interventions in order to ensure economic growth over the long run when an epidemic causes heavy mortality among young adults? We argue that, in general, policies to combat the disease and promote education must be concentrated, in certain ways, at first on som...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health economics 2009, Vol.28 (1), p.54-72
Main Authors: Bell, Clive, Gersbach, Hans
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIDS
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
Bildungsinvestition
Disease Outbreaks - economics
Economic growth
Education
Education support
Educational programmes
Empirical research
Epidemic diseases
Epidemic diseases, HIV/AIDS, Macroeconomics of targeting, Education support, Health policies
Epidemics
Generation
Gesundheit
Health administration
Health economics
Health Education - economics
Health Education - legislation & jurisprudence
Health policies
Health Policy
Health promotion
Health Services Needs and Demand - economics
HIV
HIV Infections - mortality
Human capital
Humankapital
Humans
Investition
Kosten
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics of targeting
Models, Econometric
Mortality
Public health
Public policy
South Africa
Studies
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Summary:What is the right balance among policy interventions in order to ensure economic growth over the long run when an epidemic causes heavy mortality among young adults? We argue that, in general, policies to combat the disease and promote education must be concentrated, in certain ways, at first on some subgroups of society. This concentration involves what we term the macroeconomics of targeting. The central comparison is then between programs under which supported families enjoy the benefits of spending on health and education simultaneously (DT), and those under which the benefits in these two domains are sequenced (ST). When levels of human capital are uniformly low at the outbreak, DT is superior to ST if the mortality rate exceeds some threshold value. Outside aid makes DT more attractive; but DT restricts support to fewer families initially and so increases inequality. A summary account of the empirical evidence is followed by an application of the framework to South Africa.
ISSN:0167-6296
1879-1646
1879-1646
DOI:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2008.07.011