THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Department of Economics
ECON 2148-D01 (CRN 11547): HEALTH ECONOMICS
DISTANCE LEARNING
Summer Session I 2014
Prof. Irene R. Foster
Email: fosterir@gwu.edu Skype: Irene Raj Foster (fosterir)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course, we will use microeconomic tools to analyze health and health care issues. We start with
the special features of health as a commodity, the demand for health and health care services, the
behavior of medical care providers, technology innovation and diffusion in health care, and the
functioning of insurance markets. Our discussions will then touch on key players in the health care
industry and the role of government in the health care system. Finally, we will look at health care
systems in other countries and analyze proposals for health care reform in the US.
COURSE PREREQUISITE
Principles of Microeconomics (Econ 1011) and Principles of Macroeconomics (Econ 1012)
Intermediate Microeconomics recommended.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. To be able to apply microeconomic tools to the market for health care and to understand why this
market may be different from other markets.
2. To be able to understand the role of incentives, competition and regulation in this market in order to
better evaluate efficiency and equity issues.
3. To understand the scope, size and relationship between health care and health care related industries.
4. To understand the medical care system in other countries
5. To be able to analyze current proposals to reform the US health care system.
COURSE MATERIALS
Textbook: The Economics of Health & Health Care by Sherman Folland, Allen C. Goodman and Miron
Stano, 7th ed., Pearson, 2013.
Non-textbook Materials: You will be assigned a number of outside readings as well as videos and
narrated PowerPoint slideshows. These will be provided to you on Blackboard.
Technology: Reliable internet access; access to a scanner
COURSE COMMUNICATION
Given that this is an online course, all communication will be via Blackboard, email, or Skype.
Blackboard
I use Blackboard on a regular basis to post weekly assignments, announcements, documents, readings as
well as your grades. Get into the habit of checking Blackboard once or twice a week. To access
Blackboard, go to the GW Home page http://www.gwu.edu and at the very top center of the page, under
“Students”, click on Blackboard. Login to Blackboard using your GW mail username (NetID). Click
on “Health Economics Econ 2148 D01” listed among your classes. This will take you to the course
page. To access course information, click on the links on the navigation bar to the left.
Econ 2148-­‐D01 GWU-­‐Economics Summer I 2014 Virtual Office Hours
Feel free to contact me anytime via email or Skype.
Help Discussion Forum
This is the appropriate forum to which to post questions about the course material, homework or about
routine course matters that you want help with from your classmates.
If you start a new thread, please make the subject line of the new thread as informative as possible. For
example, if you are struggling with the concept of a "price offer curve" instead of entering, say "Quick
Question" in the subject line of the new thread, enter "Price Offer Curve." This will make it easier for
your classmates to find answers to questions that have already been asked and answered.
Before starting a new thread in the forum (by clicking on the "Create Thread" button), please check to
see if your question has already been answered on the forum.
If you are fairly confident you know the answer to a question posed by a classmate, don't hesitate to
jump in and answer it. You will receive some extra credit for helping others with HW or other
questions.
I will check this forum about once a day.
Please observe the following rule of Net Etiquette when submitting posts:
• Remain professional, respectful, and courteous at all times.
• Remember that a real human being wrote each post and will read what you write in response.
• It is easy to misinterpret discussion posts. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
• If you have a strong opinion on a topic, it is acceptable to express it as long as it is not phrased as an
attack.
• Please be gracious with differing opinions.
• When upset, wait a day or two prior to posting. Messages posted (or e-mailed) in anger are often
regretted later.
• Proofread and use the spell check tool when you type a post. It makes the post easier to read and
helps your readers understand what you are saying.
• If you discover a mistake after publishing a post, you can reopen and correct it.
As your instructor, I reserve the right to delete any post that I deem inappropriate to any class discussion
forum without prior notification to the student. This will include any post containing language that is
offensive, rude, profane, racist, or hateful. Posts that are seriously off-topic or serve no purpose other
than to vent frustration will also be removed.
REQUIREMENTS & GRADES
Summer session courses only span six weeks. Our weeks will begin on a Monday and end on a Sunday.
It is imperative that you not fall behind. Given the pace at which the course moves, catching up is very
hard. To help you stay on track, there will be weekly assignments and quizzes; a midterm exam and a
final exam. Students are expected to put in at least 15-20 hours each week.
Weekly Homework Assignments
Each week, there will be a graded homework assignment. These assignments are due each
Friday night at 11:00 pm EDT and must be submitted via Blackboard (NOT by email) for grading. All
assignments must be completed by the due date and time. Assignments will not be accepted after they
are due. Your lowest assignment score will be dropped.
To do the homework assignments, you will have to print them out. After completing them, you
will have to scan them into a PDF file and submit them to me via Blackboard.
Econ 2148-­‐D01 GWU-­‐Economics Summer I 2014 Weekly Quizzes
There will be a quiz each week except the week of the midterm exam and the final exam. The
quizzes will be administered online on Blackboard. All quizzes are open book. Your lowest quiz score
will be dropped.
Midterm and Final Exams
There will be one Midterm exam. It will be given at the end of the third week – it will have to be
completed by 11pm EDT on Sunday, June 8th. The midterm will cover the material from Weeks 1, 2
and 3 of the semester.
There will be one Final Exam at the end of the sixth week and will have to be completed by
11pm EDT on Sunday, June 29th. The final will cover the material from Weeks 4, 5 and 6 of the
course.
Both exams will consist of a combination of multiple choice, short answer/definition, and long
answer/problem questions. Both exams will be open book. To take the exams, you will have to print
them out. After completing them, you will have to scan them into a PDF file and submit them to me via
Blackboard.
Grading Criteria
Grades will be based on the following:
Discussion Forum Participation
Weekly HW Assignments
Weekly Quizzes
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
10%
20%
20%
25%
25%
Grading Scale
Generally, grades are distributed as follows:
A
AB+
B
BC+
93 and above
90 – 92
87 – 89
83 – 86
80 – 82
77 – 79
C
CD+
D
DF
73 – 76
70 – 72
67 – 69
63 – 66
60 – 62
59 and below
Important Dates That Will Affect Your Grades
Monday, May 26th
Last day to add a class via GWeb or to drop a class by any means
th
Friday, May 30
Last day to add a class via RTF-EZ
Friday, June 13th
Last day to withdraw from a class with a grade of “W” using an RTF-EZ
or to change grade mode with Dean’s permission
Please see the Registrar’s website for more information:
http://registrar.gwu.edu/summer-sessions
GW Code of Academic Integrity
“Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work,
taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and
the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
Econ 2148-­‐D01 GWU-­‐Economics Summer I 2014 TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
(Please note: A week starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday)
WEEK
TOPIC
Week 1
May 19th May 25th
Basic Economic
Tools
Week 2
May 26th –
June 1st
Supply and Demand
Monday, May 26th
Friday, May 30th
Week 3
June 2nd –
June 8th
Information and
Insurance Markets
Week 4
June 9th –
June 15th
Key Players in the
Health Care Sector
Friday, June 13th
Week 5
June 16th –
June 22nd
Social Insurance
Week 6
June 23rd –
June 29th
Comparative Health
Care Systems
Health Care Reform
TEXT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Last day to add a class via
GWeb or to drop a class by
any means
Last day to add a class via
RTF-EZ
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Last day to withdraw from a
class with a grade of “W”
using an RTF-EZ or to
change grade mode with
Dean’s permission
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
NON-TEXT
READINGS,
SLIDESHOWS,
& VIDEOS
ASSIGNMENTS
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 1
HW Assignment 1
Quiz I
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 2
HW Assignment 2
Quiz 2
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 3
HW Assignment 3
MIDTERM EXAM
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 4
HW Assignment 4
Quiz 3
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 5
HW Assignment 5
Quiz 4
See Blackboard
Discussion Forum 6
HW Assignment 6
FINAL EXAM