The Economics of an HIV/AIDS Vaccine
54 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2014 Last revised: 30 Jun 2015
Date Written: October 28, 2014
Abstract
We survey the main economic aspects of the creation of an AIDS vaccine. We first describe the market conditions for this vaccine, and we show the critical importance of patents to start the costly R&D process. We then describe the main economic impediments to this venture, and the main financial mechanisms in place to alleviate them. We pinpoint their pitfalls, and we finally present novel mechanisms capable of restoring economic efficiency, and of providing greater incentives for investors to undertake R&D in this vaccine.
Keywords: HIV/Aids vaccine, R&D incentives, financial mechanisms, health underinvestment, patent protection
JEL Classification: I01, I03, G15
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation