Private choices and public health : the AIDS epidemic in an economic perspective / Tomas J. Philipson and Richard A. Posner.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [227]-257) and index.

1. An Economic Model of Risky Sexual Behavior -- 2. Empirical Support for the Economic Approach -- 3. The Demand for HIV Testing -- 4. Social versus Fiscal Costs of AIDS -- 3. Regulatory Interventions -- 6. Subsidies Designed to Change Behavior -- 7. Subsidies for Medical Research -- 8. The Redistributive Factor in Public Policy toward AIDS -- 9. AIDS and Fertility.

Like other dangerous but pleasurable activities, such as downhill skiing and mountain climbing, engaging in unprotected sex implicitly involves the weighing of costs and benefits. Recognizing that the transmission of the AIDS virus is a consequence of personal choices - often rational and informed - to engage in risky conduct, the authors employ the tools of economic analysis to reassess the orthodox approach to AIDS by public health specialists.

Standard predictions of the spread of AIDS, the authors argue, are questionable because they ignore rational behavioral responses to the risk of infection. For the same reason, customary recommended public health measures, such as extensive testing for the AIDS virus, not only may be ineffective in controlling the spread of the disease but may actually cause it to spread more rapidly.