Undergraduate, Postgraduate - UnitECC4870 - Health economics

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate, Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Economics
Offered	Not offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)	Professor Jeff Richardson and Ms Jenny Watts

Synopsis

A survey of theoretical issues in the economics of health systems and the major health policy issues confronting Australia. Emphasis is given to theories which differ from economic orthodoxy. Topics include market characteristics; market failure and regulation; equity and issues of social justice; demand analysis and human capital; the production of health and health care; theories of price formation; hospital models and hospital payment; optimal health insurance; and alternatives to Medicare.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

have a clear understanding of the theoretical debate over the 'special' characteristics of health and the health care and health insurance markets
have a clear understanding of the major theories of the demand for health care
have a clear understanding of the use of economic incentives to achieve allocative and technical efficiency in the production of both health and health care services
be familiar with the social and institutional characteristics of the Australian health care market and the various proposals for its reform.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 40%
Examination: 60%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Independent study may include associated readings, assessment and preparation for scheduled activities. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Jennifer Watts