Principles in Health Economics and Policy

Principles in Health Economics and Policy is a concise introduction to health economics and its application to health policy.

It explains the fundamental failures in the marketization of healthcare, and discusses the concepts of equity and fairness when applied to health and healthcare. This new edition presents a globally-relevant policy-oriented approach, which emphasizes the application of economic analysis to universal health policy issues.

Written in an accessible manner this text will also appeal to non-economists, as it explores the key questions currently facing health policy-makers across the globe. With issues including: How should society intervene in the determinants that affect health? How should healthcare be financed? How should healthcare providers be paid? And, how should alternative healthcare programmes be evaluated when setting priorities?

The book is an ideal reference for non-economists interested in how the tools of health economics can be applied when shaping health policy.

About the Author

Jan Abel Olsen is a professor of health economics and health services research at the Department of Community Medicine, University of Tromso, Norway. He is an adjunct professor at the Centre for Health Economics, Monash University, Australia, and a part-time researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. His eclectic research interests include measurement and valuation of health outcomes, efficiency vs equality in health and health care, primary care financing, and social epidemiology. He has published extensively in leading journals in these fields, and has served as an advisor to various governmental bodies and commissions.