Health economics for undergraduate students
The Monash Business School Department of Economics offers the unit 'ECC3720 - Health economics' for undergraduate students who want to explore how economic principles apply to health and healthcare markets. Whether you’re curious about how health systems are funded, why markets for medical care often fail, or how governments design effective health policies, this unit provides a solid foundation in health economics.
This unit introduces students to the economic principles that underpin health care and health policy. You will examine how individuals make choices about their health, how health care markets function, and why these markets often fail to deliver efficient or equitable outcomes.
'ECC2000 - Intermediate microeconomics' is a prerequisite for this unit. A background in mathematics equivalent to VCE Year 12 higher level is recommended.
Topics include:
- Demand for health and health care services
- Behaviour of health care providers and insurers
- Role of health insurance and government policy
- Market failures and regulation in health care
- Health inequalities and the economics of unhealthy behaviours
- Structure of Australia’s health care system
Upon successful completion, students will be able to:
- Understand key economic principles and how they apply to the production, consumption, and financing of health care.
- Analyse the causes and consequences of market failures in health care and assess the role of government intervention.
- Evaluate the behaviour of health care providers and consumers, including how incentives and information shape decision-making.
- Apply economic tools and concepts to critically assess health policies, insurance markets, and health care systems.
- Understand, in broad terms, what health care systems look like in Australia and other countries.