Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 6000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
Submission guidelines are posted to the GCC Web site: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gcc/index.cfm
1. Course prefix and number:
ECON 8650
2. Date:
09/14/2011
3. Requested action:
X New Course
Revision of Active Course
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from
to
#
Required
X
#
Elective
4. Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected
future delivery methods within the next three years):
Current or
Proposed Delivery
Method(s):
X
On-campus (face to face)
Expected
Future Delivery
Method(s):
X
Distance Course (face to face off campus)
Online (delivery of 50% or more of the instruction is offered online)
5. Justification (must cite accreditation and/or assessment by the graduate faculty) for new course
or course revision or course renumbering:
The graduate faculty of the Department of Economics identified a societal need for PhD
graduates with advanced analytic and technical skills necessary for analysis, mitigation,
management and regulation of risk—both environmental and financial. This requires an
understanding of the underlying individual decision maker and firm behavior and their
interaction within market and nonmarket settings. Theoretical modeling and empirical
analysis complete the picture and allow for the identification of effective public policy
and regulation. This doctoral program is unique within the state of North Carolina
because it emphasizes risk modeling and analysis over a broad scope of applications that
range from financial markets to natural hazards. Students with training from this
program will be well equipped to qualify for high level positions within Federal and State
Agencies that deal with natural hazards and regulation of risk, as well as businesses for
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management and mitigation of risk.
The assessment process of the Economics Graduate Faculty has determined that a course
that develops and examines healthcare and health decision making in an economic
framework would enhance the proposed doctoral program and support integration across
the university.
6. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
8650. Health Economics (3) P: ECON 8112, 8350, 8411. Economic analysis of topics related to
the production of health and the delivery of health care; analytic survey of important topics in
health care, indicating gaps in research, and introducing successful research programs in the field.
7. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
NA
8. Course credit:
Lecture Hours
3
3
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Lab
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Studio
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Practicum
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Internship
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
s.h.
3
Total Credit Hours
s.h.
8
9. Anticipated annual student enrollment:
10. Changes in degree hours of your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
PhD/Economics
NA
11. Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
12. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs:
x Not applicable
Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is
attached.
13. Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education):
x Not applicable
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Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
14. University Service-Learning Committee (USLC) approval:
x Not applicable
Applicable and USLC has given their approval.
15. Statements of support:
a. Staff
x Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
b. Facilities
x Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
c. Library
x
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an
estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources):
d. Unit computer resources
x
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
e. ITCS resources
x
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
16. Course information (see: Graduate Curriculum and Program Development Manual for
instructions):
a. Textbook(s) and/or readings: author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and
city/state/country. Include ISBN (when applicable).
Books:
Santerre, R & Neun, S. (2009) Health Economics: Theories, Insights and Industry
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Studies (5th ed.) Mason,OH: Thomson South-Western Publishing.
Folland, S., Goodman, A & Stano, M. (2009) Economics of Health and Health Care
(6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NY: Pearson Prentice-Hall.
Readings:
Fogel, R. (1994) "Economic Growth, Population Theory and Physiology: The Bearing
of Long-Term Processes on the Making of Economic Policy," American Economic
Review, 84, 369-95.
Cutler, D., & Miller, G. (2004) “The Role of Public Health Improvements in Health
Advances: The 20th Century United States,” NBER Working Paper #10511.
Lleres-Muney, A. (2005) "The Relationship Between Education and Adult Mortality in
the U.S.," Review of Economic Studies, Vol.72(1).
Lindahl, M. (2005) “Estimating the Effect of Income on Health and Mortality Using
Lottery Prizes as an Exogenous Source of Variation in Income,” Journal of Human
Resources, XL(1), 144-168.
Grossman, M. (1972) “On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health,”
Journal of Political Economy,80(2), 223-255.
Case, A., Lubotsky, D. & Paxson, C. (2003) “Economic Status in Childhood: The
Origins of a Gradient,” American Economic Review, 92(3), 1308-1334.
Arrow, K. (1963) "Uncertainty and the Economics of Medical Care," American
Economic Review, 53, 941-973.
Card, D., Dobkin, C. & Maestas, N. (2004) "The Impact of Nearly Universal Insurance
Coverage on Health care Utilization and Health: Evidence from Medicare," NBER
Working Paper #10365.
Cutler, D., McClellan, M.& Newhouse, J. (2000) “How Does Managed Care Do It?”
RAND Journal of Economics, 31(3), 526-548.
DiMasi, J.A., Hansen, R.W., Grabowski, H.G. (2003) “The Price of Innovation: New
Estimates of Drug Development Costs, “Journal of Health Economics, 22, 151-185.
b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus)
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Model and analyze the healthcare decision



from the patient’s perspective,
physician’s perspective, and public health decision maker’s perspective.
Evaluate empirical analysis pertaining to individual healthcare decision making,
healthcare industries and public health issues.
Utilize cost effectiveness analysis and cost benefit analysis to evaluate health
interventions and public health policy
Design and implement research projects, formulate new theory or test the
implications of theoretical models using empirical data from the field or the lab.
c. Course topic outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The economic way of thinking about health and health care
The production of health
Risk, Time discounting and behavioral biases
Demand for health insurance and demand for medical care
The governmental provision of health insurance
The Physician Services Industry
The Hospital Services Industry
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8. Cost Effectiveness Analysis
9. Cost Benefit Analysis
10. R&D, Innovation and the Pharmaceutical Industry
d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system
for determining a grade




Quizzes and written assignments (25%);
Mid-term Exam (25%),
Comprehensive Final Exam (25%),
Research Paper (25%).
Grading System:
A – Outstanding; B – Satisfactory; C – Insufficient; F – Failing.
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