ECON 4397 – Seminar in Economics: Health Economics

Course Homepage

Dr. Edward Schumacher

Spring 2009

 

 


How to Reach Me

Course Syllabus

Lecture Notes

Copies of The Papers

Questions for the Exams

 

 

How to Reach Me

Office: Chapman 402
Phone: 210.999.8137
Fax: 210.999.8108
email:
eschumac@trinity.edu
Office Hours:  T Th 2-4pm or by appointment
Home Page:www.trinity.edu/eschumac


Lecture Notes. 

Week 2 January 20-22  Part 1  in Word  or in PDF

                                    Part 2   in Word  or in PDF

Malcom Gladwell "The Moral Hazard Myth"  New Yorker Magazine

 

Week 3 January 27-29   in Word or PDF

 

Week 4 February 3-5, and 10   Part 1 in Word or in PDF

                                    Part 2 in Word or in PDF

Also see the following:

 Boston Globe: On-The-Job Training

 Denver Post:  Companies Rewarding Good Health with Gifts

 

Week 5 February 12 -17  in Word or PDF

Also see the following:

                                    Wall Street Journal: Nonprofit Hospitals Flex Pricing Power

                        Gruber -- incremental universalism.pdf

Medicare Growth.ppt


Copies of the Class Papers. 

The following papers are in pdf format.

Readings:

Student Presenter

. Current Health Policy  

Javier Bonilla

Jonathan Gruber. “Covering the Uninsured in the United States.”  Journal of Economic Literature. Vol. 46, No. 3 2008, 571–606.

 

 

Kyle Atman

Jonathan Gruber. “Incremental Universalism for the United States: The States Move First?” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 22, No. 4 Fall 2008 (pp: 51- 68).

Maria Cisneros

 

David M. Cutler. “Are We Finally Winning the War on Cancer?” Journal of Economic Perspectives. Vol. 22, No. 4 Fall 2008 (pp: 3- 26).

 

International Health Comparisons   

 

Alan M. Garber and Jonathan Skinner. “Is American Health Care Uniquely Inefficient?” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 4 Fall 2008 (pp: 27- 50).

Rachael Anderson

Angus Deaton. “Income, Health, and Well-Being around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll”.  Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 2, Spring 2008.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

 

 

 

Amy Diggs

 

David Cutler, Angus Deaton and Adriana Lleras-Muney. “The Determinants of Mortality”. Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 2006.

 

Regulation and Health  

Camille Bittner

Mark Duggan, Patrick Healy, and Fiona Scott Morton. “Providing Prescription Drug Coverage to the Elderly: America's Experiment with Medicare Part D”. Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 4 Fall 2008 (pp: 69- 92).

Morgan Collins

Tomas J. Philipson and Eric Sun.  “Is the Food And Drug Administration Safe And Effective?” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 1, Winter 2008.

 

 

Patrick Figures

 

Gary S. Becker and Julio Jorge Elías. “Introducing Incentives in the Market for Live and Cadaveric Organ Donations”.  Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 21, No. 3, Summer 2007.

 

 

 

Healthcare in the Developing World           

 

Jishnu Das, Jeffrey Hammer and Kenneth Leonard. “The Quality of Medical Advice in Low-Income Countries”.  Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 2, Spring 2008.

Christine Li

David Canning. “The Economics of HIV/AIDS in Low-Income Countries: The Case for Prevention”  Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 2006.

 

The Economics of Risky Behavior  

Thomas Robinson

Michael Kremer and Dan Levy.  “Peer Effects and Alcohol Use among College Students”.  Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 3, Summer 2008.

 

 

David Scott

John Cawley.  “Reefer Madness, Frank the Tank or Pretty Woman: To What Extent do Addictive Behaviors Respond to Incentives?” in Incentives and Choices in Health Care, ed. Frank A Sloan and Hirschel Kasper. MIT Press, 2008.

 

 

 

Philip J. Cook and Michael J. Moore. “The Economics Of Alcohol Abuse And Alcohol-Control Policies”  Health Affairs Vol. 21, No. 2 March/April 2002.

 

 

Laura Helmick

Michael Grossman, Frank J. Chaloupka, and Kyumin Shim. “Illegal Drug Use And Public Policy”. Health Affairs Vol. 21, No. 2 March/April 2002.

 

 

 

Sara Markowitz, Robert Kaestner, and Michael Grossman. “An Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Policies on Youth Risky Sexual Behaviors.” NBER working paper 11378. May 2005.

 

 

 

Jonathan Gruber. “The Economics Of Tobacco Regulation”. Health Affairs  Vol. 21, No. 2 March/April 2002.

 

 

 

The Economics of Obesity    

Robert Connop

David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser and Jesse M. Shapiro. “Why Have Americans Become More Obese?” Journal of Economic Perspectives Vol. 17, No. 3, Summer 2003.

 

Sara N. Bleich, David Cutler, Christopher Murray, and Alyce Adams. “Why Is the Developed World Obese?”  Annual Review of Public Health. 29:273–95,  2008.

 

 

Justin Spector

Darius N. Lakdawalla, Dana P. Goldman, and Baoping Shang.  “The Health And Cost Consequences Of Obesity Among The Future Elderly”.  Health Affairs ~ Web Exclusive 26 September 2005.

 

 

Jennifer West

Inus Rashad, Michael Grossman and Shin-Yi Chou. “The Supersize of America: an Economic Estimation of BMI and Obesity in Adults”. Eastern Economic Journal Vol. 32, No. 1, Winter 2006.

 

 

 

Questions for the Exams

Test 1 Essay Questions:

In MS WORD  or  PDF File

NT Times article to go with Question 7:

NYT UnitedHealth and IBM test Health care Plan

 

Test 2 Essay Questions

In MS WORD  or PDF

 

Test 3 Essay Questions

In MS WORD