The economics of malaria control in Thailand

Economics has been variously described as the science concerned with the production, consumption and distribution of goods and services, the art of assessing values and, less flatteringly for economists, applied common sense. Irrespective of one's view, there can be little doubt about the basic issue. Resources available to a community are always scarce in relation to needs and aspirations and as a result, choices have to be made about how resources will be used, which requires economic evaluation. In addition, efforts have to be made to understand and improve the efficiency of existing operations by economic analysis.