ECON 308 – Healthcare Economics

In this course, we examine the United States healthcare system in some detail, with some attention to useful international comparisons. We will start with the questions: What makes healthcare provision different from that of other goods and services? And How are these differences reflected in the structure of the healthcare industry in the United States? We will use our new understanding of the U.S. health system to evaluate various reforms that have been proposed. Other questions that we will address include, What is health? How is it measured and valued? What do we get for the money that we spend on health care? And How do we decide whether what we get is a “good value” or not?