MSc Economics of Health

Health economics applies economic thinking to the analysis of health and health care. It is a relatively young sub-discipline but has grown rapidly.  This MSc programme is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career as a professional health economist or who wish to undertake a PhD. Health economics is typically applied in multidisciplinary settings. This is reflected within the course providing you with health economics skills alongside generic economic and health service research skills.

The course is taught by experts in the field of Health Economics and Economics, and other internationally recognised specialist staff from Health Services Research and International Health.  This is augmented by distinguished UK and international guest speakers providing seminars etc.  You will also have the opportunity to interact with economists working in the Scottish Government and NHS and with policy makers who will demonstrate how economics can contribute to health policy, part of which involves a visit to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in the first semester.

Studentships

Gavin Mooney MSc studentships are available for full-time UK/EU students. To be eligible to apply for the studentships you need to hold an unconditional offer for the MSc in the Economics of Health.

The value of the studentship is £3000 (contribution towards fees/living expenses) which will be paid in three instalments.

Please submit a personal statement arguing why you think you are a good candidate for the studentship funding and a few words about your future career plans.

You should submit the statement after receiving an offer (if you are successful with your application) directly to Prof Marjon van der Pol m.vanderpol@abdn.ac.uk.

The deadline for submitting is 1 July 2013.

Career Prospects

There is a shortage of health economists in Scotland, UK and internationally. With the increased problem of aging we are forecasting the demand for health economists to increase further. There are numerous graduate job and career opportunities in health economics nationally and internationally, in both private and public sectors.  Examples include academia, government and NHS, health economics consultancies, pharmaceutical companies and international organisations such as WHO and the world bank. 

Why Choose Aberdeen?

The Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) at the University of Aberdeen has been at the cutting edge of economic research into health for over thirty years. HERU is one of the leading centres of health economics in Europe.  The Department of Economics at Aberdeen University Business School has a well-established tradition of research in applied economics, particularly in the areas of experimental, health, labour and resource economics.  There are strong links between HERU and Economics.  Our areas of strength include economics of healthcare workforce and the elicitation of preferences for health and health care.

Structure and Content

The programme is based on core modules in the first and second semester plus a dissertation.

First semester

1.   Introduction to health economics - students will explore demand, supply and markets for health care; market failure in health care; 'need' as an economic concept; financing and organising health care; economic approaches to health service evaluation; health economics research in practice; using health economics in the NHS environment; and economics of health behaviours.

2.   Health Services Research - the aim of this course is to equip students with the skills and information needed to appraise and undertake health services research. Students will learn how to formulate a research question; design a study; collect and manage data; understand how to select a method of statistical analysis; critically appraise data and prepare a report of the findings.

3.   Economic analysis – An introduction to economics to equip students with and an understanding of the techniques of used in micro and macroeconomic modelling. Microeconomic topics include Consumer theory, Theory of the Firm, Market structure, Choice under uncertainty and an Introduction to Game theory. The Macroeconomics section will include the use of quantitative and modelling techniques found in the academic, professional open-economy macroeconomics and finance literature in order to provide the economic context in which financial markets and institutions operate.  

4.   Quantitative Methods – an introduction to statistics and quantitative methods used in economics, where the focus is on the intuitive development of basic quantitative tools. This will enable students to analyse appropriate models, undertake empirical analyses of economic data and provide students with practical computer-based skills.

Second semester

1.   Valuation of health and health care – in this course students will acquire a knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical and empirical methods in health economics to value healthcare interventions. Specifically they will acquire an understanding of the economic methods of: Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY); Contingent Valuation; Discrete Choice Experiments; and Health technology assessment and economic modelling.

2.   Economics of the health workforce – in this course students will acquire a knowledge and understanding of the main theoretical and empirical methods in labour and personnel economics required to analyse the health workforce. Specifically they will acquire an understanding of: the role of the state and individuals in financing investment in the health workforce; the role of pay and reward structures in attracting, retaining and motivating the health workforce; the factors determining the composition of the health workforce; and the factors determining workforce mobility and migration.

3.   Topics in health economics and econometrics – this course introduces the major analytical methods used in health economics including both economic and econometric techniques.  Topics include health behaviours and health inequalities; incentives on the supply side; incentives on the demand side; modelling health outcomes from survey data; errors in variables and unobserved heterogeneity; and panel data models and methods

4.   International Health - this course provides students with a background in key international health issues, including the Millennium Development Goals, the organisation of different health care systems, migration and different epidemiological patterns in developing and developed countries.

Final Stage

Dissertation - Candidates conduct and report a research project on a topic drawn from an area studied in the programme.

Students may register for an MSc, Diploma or Certificate in Economics of Health.  All three options require completion of the taught curriculum in the first semester. Students who complete the taught curriculum are eligible for a Certificate in Economics of Health. Students who complete the taught curriculum in the first and second semester are eligible for a Diploma in Economics of Health.  Award of an MSc requires completion of a dissertation.

Further information on fees is available from Student Recruitment & Admissions.

For further information please click here or contact Marjon van der Pol at m.vanderpol@abdn.ac.uk