Chapter 6 The economic impacts of malaria: past, present, and future
In: Planetary health approaches to understand and control vector-borne diseasesSearch for other papers by Nikolas Kuschnig in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Lukas Vashold in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
Malaria places a great burden on the health and prosperity of many and occupies a great number of scientists and policymakers. The dynamics of the disease are tightly interwoven with economics – incidence is both tied to economic circumstances and impacts them. Economic research plays an important role in understanding and supporting the fight against malaria. The economic literature, however, features a number of peculiarities that can hamper accessibility and has been slow to approach interdisciplinary issues. In this chapter, we explain the economic perspective and summarise the literature on the economic impacts of malaria. Malaria has severe impacts on individual and aggregate economic outcomes, including mortality and morbidity, but also indirect burdens that materialise with a delay. The fight against malaria is not an economic policy per se, but may provide beneficial economic spillovers and can be vital in establishing an environment that allows for prosperity. Economic insights can make a difference in the design and implementation of effective and efficient eradication and control strategies. This is critical in the light of increasing disease (re-)exposure due to climate change and the emergence of resistant vectors and pathogens.