Health Economics

Taking a look into simple models of supply and demand within health care, this book covers techniques of cost-benefit analysis, and then compares differing health care systems around the world. It features an array of case studies based on systems from around the world.

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This popular textbook provides a comprehensive but accessible coverage of health economic principles and applications. It provides an introduction for those with no previous knowledge of economics, but also more advanced material suitable for those with a background in economics. Now into its second edition, Barbara McPake and Charles Normand have incorporated developments in economic evaluation and economics of health systems from recent research and experience while retaining an accessible approach and style.


The book starts with a section on basic economic principles as applied to health and health care, and goes on to discuss economic evaluation in health care, the economics of health systems and health care finance. Examples and illustrations are taken from a wide range of settings and world regions, reflecting the authors’ belief that the same principles apply, and that it is useful to have some understanding of how different countries organise the health system. It provides an understanding of the performance of different health systems from the insurance based approaches in the United States to government funding that is common in Canada and most countries in Europe, and the mixed systems that operate in most low-income countries.


This book is ideal for students in public health and related courses, for health care professionals and those studying health economics at a more advanced level.