Login
Student authentication

Is it the first time you are entering this system?
Use the following link to activate your id and create your password.
»  Create / Recover Password

HEALTH ECONOMICS AND POLICY

Syllabus

EN IT

Learning Objectives

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
This course is designed to introduce upper level undergraduate students in economics to the field of Health Economics. The provision and production of health care have different characteristics and incentives from other consumer goods making health related markets a unique topic for study. We will cover a number of topics including basic economic concepts important for the study in health economics, why health is different from other good, aspects of the US health care market, health care in other countries, health care reform, as well as discussing the importance of health for development. The goals of this course are: first to increase the student’s familiarity with economic concepts and theories, especially as they can be applied in the health care sector; second to increase the student’s ability to use formal quantitative tools to analyze economic problems; and third to develop the student’s ability to apply economic reasoning to health care issues and decisions.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
Familiarity with economic concepts and theories, applied in the health care sector as well as knowledge of some key research questions and methods applied in health economics.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
Formal quantitative tools to analyze economic problems

MAKING JUDGEMENTS:
Ability to apply economic reasoning to health care issues and decisions

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
Formulate problems, present solutions and deliver comments and implications based on some real-life applications of health care issues covered.

LEARNING SKILLS:
Learning from research papers.

VINCENZO ATELLA

Prerequisites

Micro-Economics is a pre-requisite for this course. Knowledge of multivariate statistics and
econometrics is recommended since an exposure to regression analysis will also be useful for understanding the material.

Program

This course will follow a online lecture format (36 hours). The lecture classes will be divided in two parts, by assigning 24 hours to theoretical issues, and 12 hours to learning and interpreting empirical methods and findings in applied in health economics. In particular, the course will cover:
1. An Overview of the Health Care Industry
2. Demand for Medical Services
3. Socio-economic disparities of health
4. The Demand for Medical Insurance
5. Adverse selection: Akerlof’'s model
6. Adverse selection: the Rothschild-Stiglitz model
7. Adverse selection in real markets
8. Moral hazard
9. Healthcare systems
10. Aging and sustainability
11. Externalities
12. Obesity
Students are encouraged to ask questions on the course material and to share any personal experiences that are relevant to the topic. Reading assignments will be made in advance, and students will be responsible for reading them prior to each class, and in case leading the class discussion.

Books

Bhattacharya, Hyde and Tu (BHT). Health Economics, 2014. Palgrave MacMillan.
ISBN: 9781137029966. – The suggested pathway within the textbook is “Economic theory
facts”

Teaching methods

Lectures via Microsoft Teams and hands on session on personal devices

Exam Rules

Final written exam: 80%;
Participation/attendance: 20%

VINCENZO ATELLA

VINCENZO ATELLA

VINCENZO ATELLA