ABSTRACT

Research in Health Economics has developed into a separate discipline for the last 25 years. All this intense research activity, has translated in the inclusion of courses of health economics, mostly at graduate level. However, the Industrial Organization aspects of the health care market do not occupy a central place in those courses. We propose a textbook of health economics whose distinguishing feature is the analysis of the health care market from an Industrial Organization perspective. This textbook will provide teachers and students with a reference to study the market structure aspects of the health care sector.

The book is structured in three parts. The first part will present the basic principles of economics. It will bring all readers to the required level of knowledge to follow subsequent parts. Part II will review the main concepts of health economics. The third part will contain the core of the book. It will present the industrial organization analysis of the health care market, based on our own research.

part I|112 pages

Principles of economics

chapter 1|2 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|18 pages

Demand

chapter 3|16 pages

Supply

chapter 4|21 pages

Markets

chapter 5|23 pages

Regulation

chapter 6|13 pages

Mergers and acquisitions

chapter 7|14 pages

For-profit and nonprofit organizations

part II|101 pages

Health care

chapter 8|11 pages

Essential concepts in health economics

chapter 9|32 pages

Demand for health and health care

chapter 10|19 pages

Insurance

chapter 11|35 pages

Contracts and asymmetric information

part III|104 pages

IO in health care

chapter 12|23 pages

Competition in health care markets

chapter 13|14 pages

Public and private provision

chapter 14|31 pages

Bargaining

chapter 15|10 pages

Waiting lists

chapter 16|8 pages

Referrals, gatekeeping, and levels of care

chapter 17|14 pages

Pharmaceutical market