Health Economics (ECON7460)

Course overview

Life, healthy living, longevity, ageing, death:
why health economics is important - this course will provide descriptive and theoretical aspects and help you to look at health and health care issues through the distinctive lens of an economist, changing forever the way you think about these concepts. The central concern is the behaviour of economic agents (that includes you!) when confronted with scarcity. Choice and opportunity cost are central. This course will focus on demand for and supply of healthcare, health insurance, equity and need, health and labour market, lifestyle behaviours, measurement of health outcomes, health economics ageing and longevity, welfarist and non-welfarist foundations of economic evaluation.

The course “Health Economics” provides the student with an introductory overview to health economics theory.ﾠIn this course, we will apply knowledge of microeconomics and new theory in health economics to address questions in the field of Health Economics.ﾠ

Health Economics is a sub-field of Economics, and its origins go back to the first article on Market Failure (Arrow, 1963). Health care cannot be viewed under the standard market approach, due to asymmetry of information between agents and principals, which may lead to supplier induced demand. Moral hazard and adverse selection may occur. Government intervention is often necessary to help correct/alleviate the market failure framework. Demand for health care and production of health are underpinned by the Grossman (1972) model.ﾠ

This course coversﾠthe application of microeconomic theory and principles to health and theﾠhealth care market.

Course requirements

Assumed background

An understanding of economics beyond ECON1010 is required - the main issue in health is assymetry of information, market failure and government intervention. The assigned textbook is higher level undergraduate/base graduate - it is ideal for all concepts. Some reading will be extracted from that - by following each lecture you will then know the relevant sections. If you have not studied beyond basic demand and supply concepts, this course may prove difficult. It is recommended that you study ECON7460 in the first semester of the Masters in Health Economics program, if possible, alongside intermediate micreconomics, e.g. ECON7110 (Consumer and Firm Behaviour).

The assessment process is assignment and essay based - please become familar with the assessments from 2019-2022. The main assignments are essay based. In 2021,ﾠ MCQs andﾠshort questions were introduced as a Learning Engagement Tool throughout the semester. In 2023, the assessments will include quizes, a report and a video only (no longer required to do an article review).

Before attempting this course, you are advised that it is important to complete the appropriate prerequisite course(s) listed on the front of this course profile. No responsibility will be accepted by UQ School of Economics, the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law or The University of Queensland for poor student performance occurring in courses where the appropriate prerequisite(s) has/have not been completed, for any reason whatsoever. Please discuss with Professor Gannon, in advance, if this is not feasible, so that an appropriate learning path can be developed.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ECON1010 or 7000

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ECON2460

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Lectures will be provided in person, and all students are to attend. Lectures are uploaded after the timetabled Class. The timetabled class will be in person, an interactive lecture, to work through issues arising in the lecture.

Tutorials start in Week 2.

Student are required to log their preferences for a tutorial group via My Timetable (available through my.UQ dashboard).

Please see the Learning Activities section of this Course Profile for the timetabling implications of public holidays.

Important Dates:

·        Public Holidays: Wed 13 August (Royal Queensland Show Holiday), Mon 6 October (King’s Birthday public holiday).

·        Mid-Semester Break: 29 September – 3 October. Semester 2 classes recommence on Tue 7 October.

Students should refer to the timetable prior to the commencement of classes to ensure that they have the most up to date information, as from time to time late room changes may occur. 

Aims and outcomes

This course will enable you to think like a health economist, using microeconomics applied to health and health care, changing forever the way you think critcally about these concepts.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Online quizzes: weekly MCQs

• Hurdle
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

20%

Due date

Due on Monday 2pm in the week after each tutorial. The Quiz will be open from the previous Thursday at 2pm.

There is no quiz during mid-semester break, week 10.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

There is no late submission allowed for quizzes. The quiz will close at 2pm on the Monday (except on October 6th, public holiday when the quiz will remain open until the day after, Tuesday 2 p.m.).

Quizzes are to be completed on Blackboard. All questions are to be answered, to complete the quiz. At least 5 out of 10 quizzes are to be completed, otherwise 0 marks will be provided for ALL quizzes.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Answers will be posted in the tutorial in the next week so there will be no extension.

Late submission

There is no late submission allowed for quizzes. The quiz will close at 2pm on the Monday (except on October 6th, public holiday when the quiz will remain open until the day after, Tuesday 2 p.m.).

Report: 2500 words report on topics from Lectures 2-6

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

55%

Due date

28/10/2025

Due 2 p.m.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on the course Blackboard site.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extensions are limited to 7 calendar days to ensure timely feedback to other students.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Group discussion - in tutorials

• Team or group-based
• In-person

Mode

Oral

Category

Participation/ Student contribution, Practical/ Demonstration, Presentation

Weight

25%

Due date

28/07/2025 - 20/10/2025

This task will be based on teams, who must be present on the day of their presentation to achieve the overall team score.

The due date is the date is the tutorial time, which is assigned to the student, through the sign-up sheet, on Blackboard.

The assignment presentations will begin in week 2 and continue to week 12.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Submission guidelines

Slides must be prepared for the presentation. Instructions will be provided in tutorial 1. Each team member must be present on the day, or they will receive 0 marks for the assignment.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

There is no extension possible. The presentations are based on the papers provided only.

Late submission

You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.

Each team member must be present on the day, or they will receive 0 marks for the full assignment.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

A student’s final overall end of semester percentage mark will be rounded to determine their final grade. For example, 64.5% rounds to 65%, while 64.4% rounds to 64%.

ﾠ

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Using AI at UQ

Visit the AI Student Hub for essential information on understanding and using Artificial Intelligence in your studies responsibly. 

Plagiarism

The School of Economics is committed to reducing the incidence of plagiarism. You are encouraged to read the UQ Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy available in the Policies and Procedures section of this course profile.

The Academic Integrity Module (AIM) outlines your obligations and responsibilities as a UQ student. It is compulsory for all new to UQ students to complete the AIM.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

A detailed reading list will be provided on blackboard.

Some examples are provided below.

Lecture 1:

RequiredﾠMorris, S., Devlin, N., Parkin, D. 2012 Economic Analysis in Health Care. John Wiley & Sons: Chapter 1.ﾠ

Recommended/Further (ECON7460, extra knowledge on literature expected)

• Williams A. (1987) Health Economics: The Cheerful Face of the Dismal Science?. In: Williams A. (eds) Health and Economics. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Palgrave Macmillan, London
• Folland, S. et al.ﾠ2023 The Economics of Health and Health Care.ﾠ Chapter 1

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.