The Economic Cost of AIDS in Canada

Jon Harkness

Canadian Public Policy, 1989, vol. 15, issue 4, 405-412

Abstract: Forming a rational anti-AIDS policy--guided, say, by a cost-benefit analysis--is difficult (if not impossible) without knowing the cost involved. Presumably, AIDS currently imposes substantial cost on Canadian society. The direct costs of AIDS are relatively small. The principle cost is indirect, being the loss of human capital (or potential output) as a result of the premature death or disability of AIDS victims. Such human capital costs should be an input into any AIDS-related policy decision. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the reduction in Canada's current human capital stock as the result of AIDS. This reduction was found to be about a billion dollars in 1988. Section I gives a background on AIDS and describes the current Canadian situation. The loss of Canadian human capital is then estimated in Section II. Section III then briefly treats some of the main direct costs of AIDS. Finally, conclusions are found in Seciton IV.

Date: 1989
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