Economics serving society

Antiretroviral treatment and calculation of well-being by Shaun Da Costa

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 1.3 million AIDS-related deaths in 2004.* While there is no cure, the expansion of antiretroviral therapy is helping people live better lives. However, traditional indicators of well-being underestimate the real social value of these treatments. Shaun Da Costa explains why measuring the benefits of these therapies is essential to calculate the well-being of populations.

*Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), 2020

Find more Economics for everybody’s publications here

Shaun Da Costa is a postdoctoral fellow at the Paris School of Economics. His research is at the intersection of health, welfare and development economics, with a particular focus on the measurement of well-being and inequality in low-income countries.

Learn more

Find out more about the Economics for everybody’s thematic files.