HIV/AIDS is much too complex a phenomenon to be understood only by reference to common sense and ethical codes, declares Brent (economics, Fordham U.). He argues that it is more than a medical
problem to be dealt with by biology, laboratories, and medication, and must be recognized in terms of its social and economic determinants, especially because it is transmitted largely by human
behavior and individual choices. He sets out a cost-benefit analysis of the disease and responses to it, simplifying the techniques as much as possible so that non-economists can follow. Among
his topics are counterintuitive results, nutrition and HIV at the individual and country levels, education as a factor raising HIV rates, the benefits of avoiding HIV, the value of a
statistical life theory, and seeing everything as a commodity to be bought and sold. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
