Optimal Disease Eradication

Michael Hoel () and Scott Barrett
Additional contact information
Scott Barrett: School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

No 2004.50, Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Abstract: Using a dynamic model of the control of an infectious disease, we derive the conditions under which eradication will be optimal. When eradication is feasible, the optimal program requires either a low vaccination rate or eradication. A high vaccination rate is never optimal. Under special conditions, the results are especially stark: the optimal policy is either not to vaccinate at all or to eradicate. Our analysis yields a cost-benefit rule for eradication, which we apply to the current initiative to eradicate polio.

Keywords: Eradication of infectious diseases; Vaccination; Control theory; Cost-benefit analysis; Poliomyelitis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D61 H41 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://feem-media.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/w ... oads/NDL2004-050.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Optimal Disease Eradication (2009)
Journal Article: Optimal disease eradication (2007)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.50

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Alberto Prina Cerai ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).