"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," but is it more efficient? In the quest for improvements in health and reduction in health care costs, attention focuses on the cost-effectiveness of preventive versus curative medical care. The aim of this book is to give, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the economics of prevention. The book extends far beyond the study of comparative costs in its coverage of the meaning of health and prevention and the scope of economics; the impact of the economy on avoidable ill-health and of prevention on the economy; the economic rationale for provision of preventive services and regulation of hazardous activities; the cost-benefit approach and the nature of efficiency in prevention; case studies in primary prevention; case studies in secondary prevention; the practice of economic appraisal; economic influences on the demand for hazardous commodities and screening services; theories of preventive behavior; national prevention program budgeting and priority setting; and an overall assessment of the potential contribution of health economics.