Macquarie University

Health Economics - ECON318

One of the largest areas of government spending in most developed countries is health, Australia spends around 10% of GDP on health. With people living longer and societies getting greyer, the health care industry is projected to be one of the largest employers by 2020. These statistics make the study and understanding of the economics of health care important for future economists.

Adopting a microeconomic approach, students are introduced to concepts and techniques relevant to the understanding of health economics. The unit will cover the economics of health care (demand and supply, market imperfections including market failure and resulting resource allocation); the behaviour of agents (hospitals, physicians and private health insurers) in health care; the role of government and the need for government intervention; equity and ethics in health care resource allocation; the Australian health care system; health and economic development; the case of Aboriginal health.

The unit will also help to answer questions such as: What makes health a unique economic good? Why does health need government intervention? Why do people buy health insurance? Why do doctors charge richer patients more than poorer patients? What do hospitals maximise: profits; patients treated or quality of service?