.gif){kind=spacer}
| About the book |
As issues of resource scarcity become more explicitly acknowledged in the health sector, public health practitioners are recognizing that economics can form a vital part of their professional toolkit. Economic analysis provides a way of thinking about problems in which the issues of resource scarcity, opportunity cost and broader social objectives such as efficiency and equity can be explicitly taken into account. However, while economics can certainly play an important role in policy and management, its application is often complicated. This book discusses theoretical perspectives in health economics by developing an appreciation of how economic concepts and techniques can be applied in policy making and management in the health sector. The book examines:
|
| About the authors |
Stephen Jan is a Senior Lecturer in Health Economics, Lilani Kumaranayake is a Lecturer in Health Economics, Jenny Roberts is Professor of Economics of Public Health, Kara Hanson is a Senior Lecturer in Health Economics, and Kate Archibald was a Research Fellow in Health Economics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. |
| Table of contents |
Overview of the book Section 1: Key economic concepts Introduction to welfare economics Section 2: Demand, production and costs Aspects of economic evaluation Derivation of demand Models of demand, public goods and aggregated demand The production process: concepts and assumptions Costs and the cost function Section 3: Markets, market failure and regulation Market analysis Behaviour of health care providers What is the evidence of competition on consumer and provider sides? Alternative models of provider competition The economic rationale for government involvement in the health sector Economic theories of regulation Section 4: Contracts and agency Institutional economics and appropriate contracts Legal and economic analysis of contracts Agency and organizational decision making Agency in the health sector Section 5: Equity in health care Equity in health care ' general concepts Equity and health care Glossary Index |
