A fierce academic, social, political, and economic debate is raging about how healthcare systems should be organized. Policy experts want to learn from international best practices and apply ideas at home that have worked effectively elsewhere. This course will give you a firsthand understanding of how healthcare systems function throughout the world. We will study systems in the European countries, and compare and contrast them with the US model, examining each from economic, financial, and national and local public policy perspectives.
We’ll link our findings with theories and empirical evidence to assess which of the healthcare systems are better from the point of view of efficiency and equity. Economic principles will be used to demonstrate why healthcare reforms may reach or fall short of the governments’ stated goals. We’ll analyze in depth the concept of universality, short- and long-term challenges, successful and unsuccessful health policies, and why many systems are unsustainable—and then develop possible solutions.
Meets with PSC 436.
Prereq: ECN 101 or ECN 203, or equivalent background in microeconomics
Department: Economics
Location: Florence
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3