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NBER’s Center for Aging and Health Research presents an analysis of “The Role of Economics in Research on Alzheimer’s Disease“.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease of the brain that is the leading cause of dementia in the United States, afflicting an estimated five million Americans. As shown in the figure, the prevalence, costs, and human toll of this disease are vast, and expected to increase over time. Given these sobering statistics, Alzheimer’s disease is a critical priority for research and public policy in the United States.
In order to encourage new economic research on this topic, Amitabh Chandra, Courtney Coile and Corina Mommaerts outline the economics of Alzheimer’s disease in What Can Economics Say About Alzheimer’s Disease? (NBER Working Paper 27760). They provide scientific background, review progress that has already been made, and highlight an array of opportunities for economists, across many fields, to address important questions that are raised by the disease.