EC4603 (Provisional may change)
Health and Education Economics
LECTURER:
Dr Margaret Leighton
Candlemas (Second) Semester 2015/16
CREDITS: 15
LECTURES:
18 lectures
2 x 1 hour lectures per week.
Timing of lectures and venue: TBA
TUTORIALS: 4 x 1 hour tutorials likely to take
place in weeks 3, 4, 6, and 8. (To be confirmed).
EXAMINATION:
A two hour examination
Structure TBC
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT:
1 x 50 minute Class Test, date TBA.
1 x 1500 word essay, to be submitted by TBA.
FINAL GRADE: [8]
Examination 60% weight
Essay 40% weight
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS: you must sit
the examination and attend a minimum of 3
tutorials to gain credit for this class.
Brief Module Outline
This module explores economic perspectives on health and education. After introducing human
capital theory, we will use this lens to examine the decision to invest in schooling and review
empirical estimates of the returns to education. We will also consider policy interventions to
improve education. In the second part of the course we will study the demand and supply of
health services, paying particular attention to the issues surrounding public and private health
insurance. We will also discuss public intervention directed at health behaviours. The module
will conclude by examining the joint production of health and education, with a focus on early
childhood.
Learning Outcomes
It is intended that by the end of the course, students will




Be familiar with economic approaches to education and health
Be able to discuss health and economic policies from an economic perspective
Appreciate and understand the role of evidence in the evaluation of health and education
policies
Be familiar with key issues in contemporary health and education economics
Course Outline
Topics include (not necessarily in the order below)




Introduction: health, education and human capital theory
Education from an economics perspective: the schooling decision
Measuring the returns to education: Mincer regressions and related issues
Improving education quantity and quality
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 Determinants of health and demand for health care
 Health insurance: public vs. private provision and related issues
 Health behaviours and public intervention
Main Reading
The main textbook for this course is:
Guinness, L., & Wiseman, V. (2011). Introduction To Health Economics. McGraw-Hill Education
(UK).
Additional readings will be assigned in the syllabus, for example:
Levin, H. M. (1989). Mapping the Economics of Education. An Introductory Essay. Educational
Researcher, 18(4), 13–16+73.
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