The Oxford Handbook of Health Economics

About this book

• Comprehensive survey of topics with abundant cross-references, illuminating the breadth of the field and the connections within it
• Authoritative, yet non-technical, it provides a full array of topics for health economics specialists while remaining accessible to non-specialists and those from other fields
• Includes developed and developing country perspectives that illustrate the application of health economics thinking across a broad range of institutional contexts
• Highlights the direct impact of health economics reasoning on policy and practice

The Oxford Handbook of Health Economics provides an accessible and authoritative guide to health economics, intended for scholars and students in the field, as well as those in adjacent disciplines including health policy and clinical medicine. The chapters stress the direct impact of health economics reasoning on policy and practice, offering readers an introduction to the potential reach of the discipline.

Contributions come from internationally-recognized leaders in health economics and reflect the worldwide reach of the discipline. Authoritative, but non-technical, the chapters place great emphasis on the connections between theory and policy-making, and develop the contributions of health economics to problems arising in a variety of institutional contexts, from primary care to the operations of health insurers. The volume addresses policy concerns relevant to health systems in both developed and developing countries. It takes a broad perspective, with relevance to systems with single or multi-payer health insurance arrangements, and to those relying predominantly on user charges; contributions are also included that focus both on medical care and on non-medical factors that affect health. Each chapter provides a succinct summary of the current state of economic thinking in a given area, as well as the author's unique perspective on issues that remain open to debate. The volume presents a view of health economics as a vibrant and continually advancing field, highlighting ongoing challenges and pointing to new directions for further progress.

Readership: Graduate students of public policy, public health, and economics, and health policy makers.

Reviews

"Comprehensively covers the multiple aspects of health and medical care . . . this important handbook is a must read for the expanding masters in global health programmes." - Devi Sridhar, The Lancet

"This is a first-rate handbook - comprehensive and balanced - it is an excellent introduction to multiple aspects of health and medical care." - Victor R. Fuchs, Henry J. Kaiser Jr. Professor Emeritus, Stanford University (Departments of Economics and Health Research and Policy)

"A comprehensive guide to the ever-growing field of health economics: indispensable, not only for the academic researcher but also for the policy-maker." - Julian Le Grand, Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, London School of Economics

"A "must have" for anyone who cares about this subject. The authors cross the full spectrum in terms of specialties, geography, and political orientation." - Gail Wilensky, Senior Fellow, Project HOPE

Table of contents

1.: Sherry Glied and Peter C. Smith: Introduction
2: Bianca K. Frogner, Peter S. Hussey, and Gerard F. Anderson: Health Systems in Industrialized Countries
3: Anne Mills: Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
4: Carolyn Hughes Tuohy and Sherry Glied: The Political Economy of Health Care
5: William Jack: The Promise of Health: Evidence of the Impact of Health on Income and Well-Being
6: Kristian Bolin: Health Production
7: David M. Cutler, Adriana Lleras-Muney, and Tom Vogl: Socioeconomic Status and Health: Dimensions and Mechanisms
8: Michael Baker and Mark Stabile: Determinants of Health in Childhood
9: Ramanan Laxminarayan and Anup Malani: Economics of Infectious Diseases
10: Donald S. Kenkel and Jody Sindelar: Economics of Health Behaviours and Addictions: Contemporary Issues and Policy Implications
11: Richard G. Frank: Economic and Mental Health: An International Perspective
12: Åke Blomqvist: Public Sector Health Care Financing
13: Peter Zweifel: Voluntary Private Health Insurance
14: Michael E. Chernew and Dustin May: Health Care Cost Growth
15: Erik Schokkaert and Carine Van de Voorde: User Charges
16: Mark V. Pauly: Insurance and the Demand for Medical Care
17: Wynand P.M.M. van de Ven and Frederik T. Schut: Guaranteed Access to Affordable Coverage in Individual Health Insurance Markets
18: Laurence Baker: Managed Care
19: Pedro Pita Barros and Pau Olivella: Hospitals: Teaming Up
20: Anthony Scott and Stephen Jan: Primary Care
21: Till Bärnighausen and David E. Bloom: The Global Health Workforce
22: Patricia M. Danzon: The Economics of the Biopharmaceutical Industry
23: Jane Hall: Disease Prevention, Health Care and Economics
24: Jose-Luis Fernandez, Julien Forder and Martin Knapp: Long-Term Care
25: Thomas G. McGuire: Physician Agency and Payment for Primary Medical Care
26: Jon B. Christianson and Douglas Conrad: Provider Payment and Incentives
27: Tor Iversen and Luigi Siciliani: Non-Price Rationing and Waiting Times
28: Carol Propper and George Leckie: Increasing Competition between Providers in Health Care Markets: The Economic Evidence
29: Jim Burgess and Andrew Street: Measuring Organizational Performance
30: Jack E. Triplett: Health System Productivity
31: Simon Walker, Mark Sculpher and Mike Drummond: The Methods of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis to Inform Decisions about the Use of Health Care Interventions and Programmes
32: Susan Griffin and Karl Claxton: Analysing Uncertainty in Cost-effectiveness for Decision Making
33: Donna Rowen and John Brazier: Health Utility Measurement
34: Jan Abel Olsen: Concepts of Equity and Fairness in Health and Health Care
35: Eddy van Doorslaer and Tom Van Ourti: Measuring Inequality and Inequity in Health and Health Care
36: Louise Sheiner: Intergenerational Aspects of Health Care
37: Andrew M. Jones and Nigel Rice: Econometric Evaluation of Health Policies
38: Alan K. Maynard and Karen Bloor: Health Economics and Policy: The Challenges of Proselytising