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This chapter infers the distribution of AIDS costs in India, Indonesia, and Thailand from data on the costs of detecting and treating AIDS and from information on the nature of different countries health care finance systems and related institutions. The main finding is that the AIDS epidemic will contribute to increased economic inequality in these countries because (a) it is disproportionately affecting low-income groups and (b) public and private institutions that could spread the costs of the epidemic (for example, health, life, disability, and social welfare insurance) are relatively limited and do not reach the majority of the populations. The chapter also develops a new approach to measuring AIDS medical care costs that yields estimates of US $738 per case in India and US $1490 per case in Indonesia. Finally, the chapter discusses the political economy of HIV prevention and speculates that more effective control of the epidemic may result from a system in which the government pays for the medical care costs of AIDS than one in which individuals with AIDS and their families bear most of the costs.

The relationship between population growth & economic growth in developing countries from 1965 to 1985 is examined, based on statistics from World Bank publications. Results indicate that developing countries were able to shift their LF from low-productivity agriculture to higher-productivity industry & service sectors, & to increase productivity within these sectors, despite rapid population growth. Also, at given rates of population growth, income growth is related to the time path of population growth, & population growth due to high birth & death rates is associated with slower income growth than popultion growth due to relatively low birth & death rates. Hence, the timing & components of population growth are important elements in the process of economic development. 2 Tables, 16 References. Modified HA