Postgraduate Course: Economic Issues in Health Policy (PGSP11306)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
| Home subject area | Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies) |
Other subject area | Social Policy |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This is a course on economic issues in public policy, with specific application to the health sector. As such, it assumes no background in economics or econometric modelling. Instead, this course focuses on how decisions in health policy are constrained by economic considerations and how economic thinking can be used to evaluate policy outcomes. The course consists of two separate, but related, sections.
First, students are introduced to ways that economic theory contributes to policy-making in health, and the ways that economic context can influence health policy. Second, students examine the relationship between government and the market, looking at the role of incentives in health care financing and delivery, along with an examination of the impact of benefits and taxes on how market economies operate.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2012/13 Block 1 (Sem 1), Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | Lecture | 1-6 | | | | 16:10 - 17:00 | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
The course seeks to develop:
- an understanding of the place of economic and resourcing issues in health policy
- an ability to read economic literature about health policy
- an awareness of the growing use of markets in the provision of health services and the political debates which have occurred around this
- an understanding of how to evaluate policy in terms of efficiency and equity
- an ability to look critically at international comparative data on factors affecting health policy
- an ability to present, communicate and debate policy relevant issues while drawing on numerical data to support a specific viewpoint
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Assessment Information
| essay, 2500-3000 words. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Week 1 Efficiency verses Equity and Economists in Government
Week 2 Economic Rationales for Public Intervention
Week 3 Issues of Measurement
Week 4 Resources for Public Intervention - Macro-aspects
Week 5 Resources for Public Intervention - Micro-aspects
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Barr N. (2001) The Welfare State as Piggy Bank, Oxford: OUP.
Barr N. (2004) The Economics of the Welfare State (4th edition), Oxford: OUP.
Begg D., Fischer S. and Dornbusch R. (2003) Economics (7th edition), McGraw-Hill. (Chapters 1-3)
Davis E (1998) Public Spending, London: Penguin.
Le Grand J, Propper C and Smith S (2008) The Economics of Social Problems, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Glennerster H and Hills J (1998) The State of Welfare (2nd edition), Oxford: OUP
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Mark Hellowell
Tel: (0131 6)51 1330
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Clare Nisbet
Tel:
Email: |
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