Health Economics
Introduction
The Master’s specialisation in Health Economics is aimed at students with a basic training in economics who wish to specialize in health economics. The Master’s specialisation is a response to the current excess demand for health analysts with an economics background.
The quantitative importance of the health care sector is steadily rising – with healthcare spending reaching up to 10% of GDP in most OECD countries. The challenges presented by the ageing of the western population and the rapid advancements in medical technology call for serious reconsideration of the principles on which most health care systems were once conceived. Deciding about an appropriate mix of public and private health services, and how to finance and deliver such services efficiently, equitably and at an affordable cost, requires a thorough understanding of health care markets and the role for government intervention.
The specialization aims to train students to apply the concepts and tools of economic analysis to health and health care, including the functioning of health care markets and the economic evaluation of health care programmes and interventions. The specialisation alternates scientific theory and skills training through lectures, workshops, case discussions, and projects. The programme is taught by members of the Erasmus Center for Health Economics and Business (ECHEB), a joint venture between the Erasmus School of Economics and the institute for Health Policy and Management, and one of the leading centres in the world for health economics research and training.
Facts
Below you see an overview of the key facts of the Master's specialisation in Health Economics:
Start | September 2012 |
Duration | Full-Time (1 year) |
ECTS | 60 |
Language | English |
Programme Coordinator | Dr. T.G.M. van Ourti |
Title | MSc |
Study Association |
Curriculum
Below you see an overview of the curriculum of the Master's specialisation in Health Economics:
Courses | Student Workload |
Economics and Financing of Health Care Systems | 5 ECTS credits |
Quantitative Methods for Applied Economics | 4 ECTS credits |
Economics of Health and Health Care | 5 ECTS credits |
Health Technology Assessment | 5 ECTS credits |
Research Topics in Health Economics | 5 ECTS credits |
Life Sciences Pricing and Management | 5 ECTS credits |
1 Elective, to be chosen from: | 5 ECTS credits |
2 Other electives in Health Economics (including | 10 ECTS credits |
Master’s thesis | 16 ECTS credits |
Programme | 60 ECTS credits |
The structure of the curriculum is different from that of other Master specialisations offered at the Erasmus School of Economics. The Master's specialisation in Health Economics is organised as follows:
- Four core courses (20 ECTS credits): Economics and Financing of Health Care Systems (5 ECTS credits), Economics of Health and Health Care (5 ECTS credits), Health Technology Assessment (5 ECTS credits), and Life Sciences Pricing and Management (5 ECTS credits). The first two courses explain why health is so different from other economic commodities and why it requires special market and non-market arrangements and regulation. Topics treated include health insurance, hospital behaviour, equity in health, and health care system reforms. Health Technology Assessment provides techniques to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of medical interventions. Topics treated include the valuation of the costs and benefits of health care, discounting, and the role of technology assessment in health policy. The course provides students with the skills to perform health technology assessments and to understand its possibilities and limitations. Life Sciences Pricing and Management discusses life sciences pricing (pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices) and market access strategy formulation.
- Two tool courses (9 ECTS credits): Quantitative Methods for Applied Economics (4 ECTS credits) and Research Topics in Health Economics (5 ECTS credits). The tool courses train you in using economic tools of analysis.
- One of three advanced courses (5 ECTS credits): Advanced Economic Evaluation, Public Health Economics and Health & Economic Development and Policy (5 ECTS credits each). The advanced courses extend the material taught in the core courses. You have to follow at least one of these advanced courses.
- Two elective courses (10 ECTS credits). The programme offers room for two elective courses which allow you to specialize. You can choose from the two remaining advanced courses, and/or from a list of 11 electives (5 ECTS credits each):
- International Health Law
- Health Care Governance
- Rationing: a Multi-Disciplinary Approach
- Choice-modelling in Health Care
- The Pharmaceutical Market
- Advanced Qualitative Methods
- Health Politics and Policy
- The Pharmaceutical Market II: Capital Selecta
- Health Economics and Policy in LMIC
- Law and Economics of Competition Policy in Health Care
- Public Health in LMIC - The MSc thesis (16 ECTS credits) gives you an opportunity to apply what you have learned and completes your master degree. The thesis can be combined with an internship.
Application and Admission
The application and admission procedure differs for Dutch university students, HBO students and international students. Please click on this link and then choose to which group you belong and you will be directed to the correct application and admission procedure.
Career Prospects
The programme prepares students for health economist jobs in both the public and the private sectors, both at the national and the international level. Apart from health care delivery organisations (like hospitals), potential employers include health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and consultancy firms, as well as international organisations with a stake in health (like the WHO, OECD, World Bank). In addition, the programme offers sufficient training in research methods to pave the way for a PhD, an academic career, or a research post.
Information
For information about the Health Economics Group at the Erasmus school of economics, please visit our website. There is also information on the master Health Economics on the website of the Institute of Health Policy and Management.
