ECON3018 – Health Economics

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Kompal Sinha kompal.sinha@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 130cp at 1000 level or above including ((ECON110 or ECON111 or ECON1020) and 20cp at 2000 level or above)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description Australia spends around 10% of its GDP on health - a figure not uncommon among most developed countries. With people living longer, the health care industry is projected to be one of the largest employers, world wide, by 2020. These facts make an understanding of the economics of health care important for future economists. Questions explored include: What makes health a unique economic good? Why does health need government intervention? Why do people buy health insurance? Why do doctors charge richer patients more than poorer patients? What do hospitals maximise: profits; patients treated or quality of service? Adopting a microeconomic approach, students are introduced to concepts and techniques relevant to the understanding of health economics and to answering these questions. Topics may include: the economics of health care (demand and supply, market imperfections including market failure and resulting resource allocation); the behaviour of agents (hospitals, physicians and private health insurers) in health care; the role of government and the need for government intervention; equity and ethics in health care resource allocation; the Australian health care system; health and economic development; the case of Aboriginal health.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://students.mq.edu.au/important-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO1: Apply theoretical microeconomics to health economics.
ULO2: Identify and analyse the role of health economics in understanding health systems.
ULO3: Analyse the unusual features of markets for health care as compared to markets for other goods.
ULO4: Effectively communicate knowledge of health economics in technical and non-technical language.

General Assessment Information

The research report will comprise of two parts. Part A will be a written report prepared by the student on the assigned topic and will be worth 30% of the overall unit grade. Part B will be a Twitter based activity worth10% of the overall unit grade to be completed during the course of the session. Details on these will be available on iLearn in Week 2.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Mid session test	15%	No	Week 7
Student presentations	15%	No	Week 9
Research report	40%	No	Week 13
Final examination online	30%	No	Unversity examination period

Mid session test

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task ²: 5 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 15%

A short multiple choice test will be held during Week 7. The material covered in week 1 to 6 will be tested.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Apply theoretical microeconomics to health economics.
Analyse the unusual features of markets for health care as compared to markets for other goods.

Student presentations

Assessment Type ¹: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task ²: 5 hours
Due: Week 9
Weighting: 15%

Each student is required to participate as a presenter. The student roster for these presentations will be prepared in Week 3.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Effectively communicate knowledge of health economics in technical and non-technical language.

Research report

Assessment Type ¹: Report
Indicative Time on Task ²: 30 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

A research report on suggested topic.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Identify and analyse the role of health economics in understanding health systems.
Effectively communicate knowledge of health economics in technical and non-technical language.

Final examination online

Assessment Type ¹: Examination
Indicative Time on Task ²: 25 hours
Due: Unversity examination period
Weighting: 30%

A two-hour open book exam will be held during the University Examination Period, and will cover all aspects of the unit material.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Apply theoretical microeconomics to health economics.
Analyse the unusual features of markets for health care as compared to markets for other goods.

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
the Learning Skills Unit for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Three hour lecture/consultation each week.

There is no required text for this unit.

UNIT READINGS

Folland, S., A. Goodman and M. Stano, (2016) The Economics of Health and Health Care, (7th Ed), Pearson.

Henderson, James W. Health economics and policy (with economic applications). Cengage Learning, 2012.

PRESCRIBED TEXT

Folland, S., A. Goodman and M. Stano, (2016) The Economics of Health and Health Care, (7th Ed), Pearson.

The text, also referred to as FGS in this unit, is available for purchase at Co-op Bookshop. A small number are available on reserve in the library. Earlier editions are similar but page references may change.

RECOMMENDED TEXT

Henderson, James W. Health economics and policy (with economic applications). Cengage Learning, 2012.

Phelps, C. E. (2016). Health economics. Routledge.

Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford University Press.

Palmer, G. R., & Short, S. D. (2000). Health care and public policy: an Australian analysis. Macmillan Education AU.

Jones, A. M. (Ed.). (2012). The Elgar companion to health economics. Edward Elgar Publishing. Culyer, A. J., & Newhouse, J. P. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of health economics. Elsevier.

Academic papers will be presented and discussed during Zoom workshop sessions. These papers are available on iLearn for each week. Students should read the assigned paper(s) before each class. Lecture recordings and presentation slides will be available on iLearn by 5pm each Friday for the following week's class. The weekly Zoom meeting that will focus on the set of review questions outlined in the weekly workshop document located on iLearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Appeals Policy
Academic Integrity Policy
Academic Progression Policy
Assessment Policy
Fitness to Practice Procedure
Grade Appeal Policy
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.

Student Enquiry Service

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Equity Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.