University of Toronto

Topics in Health Economics ECO402

ECO402H1S: 2015
Topics in Health Economics
Instructor: Alfia Karimova
Email: alfia.karimova@utoronto.ca
Office: GE350
Office hours: Tuesday 10-12pm

Lectures: Thursday 11-1pm, Friday 12pm

Course description
Health economics is an extensive and growing field of applied microeconomics. It is the study of determinants of health and
allocation of resources within the health system. The objective of the course is to introduce students to selected topics in health
economics, such as health insurance, risky health behaviours, and child health. Students will learn how to use economic tools
to study questions in health economics, and how to address issues that arise in empirical analysis of these questions. Course
material assumes some knowledge of econometrics, but relevant concepts will be covered in class. No previous background in
health economics is required.
Prerequisites
1. one of microeconomics: ECO200Y1/ECO204Y1/ECO206Y1
2. one of macroeconomics: ECO202Y1/ECO208Y1/ECO209Y1
3. one of quantitative methods for economics: ECO220Y1/ECO227Y1
or one of statistics: (STA220H1,STA255H1)/(STA257H1,STA261H1)
Textbooks
There is no textbook for this course.
Grading
Course grade is based on the following:
1. Homework - 10%
2. Midterm test (February 26, 2015) - 25%
3. Project (March 26, 2014) - 35%
4. Final exam (TBA) - 30%
Project
The project is a referee report on a journal article, approximately 1500 words, or 5 pages double spaced. The project will be
evaluated based on the following components:
1. Draft version of the article summary (February 5, 2015, 11am) - 5%
2. Peer review of the article summary (February 12, 2015, 11am) - 5%
3. Draft version of the complete referee report (March 5, 2015, 11am) - 20%
4. Peer review of the complete referee report (March 12, 2015, 11am) - 10%
5. Final version of the complete referee report (March 26, 2015, 11am) - 60%

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Topics in Health Economics ECO402

The peer review component of the assignment involves providing feedback on 2 drafts from randomly assigned classmates. Classmates feedback on the draft will not be included in the evaluation. If the draft version is submitted any time after the deadline,
a grade of 0 is assigned. Similarly, the peer review component will also be assigned a grade of 0 if submitted any time after the
deadline.
The final version of the report is due on March 26, 2015, at the beginning of class. A paper submitted after 11am on March 26
is considered one day late. Late penalty is 10% per day, for a maximum penalty of 50%. A project submitted after 11am on
April 2 will not be accepted, with a grade of 0 assigned for the project.
Further details about the project will be provided later in the course.
University disclaimer concerning turnitin.com:
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection
of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the Universitys
use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site
Homework
Students are required to submit 2 homework assignments, each worth 5% of the final grade. Homework # 1 can be submitted
at any time before February 12, otherwise a grade of 0 is assigned. Homework # 2 can be submitted at any time before April 2,
otherwise a grade of 0 is assigned. Each homework assignment requires students to write a one-page analysis of a news article
of their choice, related to any topic covered in class, making direct references to the course material. Further details about the
homework assignments will be provided.
Course outline
1. Introduction January 8
2. Empirical methods January 15
3. Health production and demand for healthcare January 22
Aron-Dine, Aviva, Liran Einav, and Amy Finkelstein. The RAND health insurance experiment, three decades later.
No. w18642. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012.
Dupas, Pascaline. Short-Run Subsidies and Long-Run Adoption of New Health Products: Evidence From a Field
Experiment. Econometrica 82, no. 1 (2014): 197-228. (R)
4. Health and socio-economic status January 29
Cutler, David M., Adriana Lleras-Muney, and Tom Vogl. Socioeconomic status and health: dimensions and mechanisms. No. w14333. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008.
Arendt, Jacob Nielsen. Does education cause better health? A panel data analysis using school reforms for identification. Economics of Education Review 24, no. 2 (2005): 149-160. (R)
5. Risky health behaviours February 5
Cawley, John, and Christopher Ruhm. The economics of risky health behaviors. No. w17081. National Bureau of
Economic Research, 2011.
Dee, Thomas S. State alcohol policies, teen drinking and traffic fatalities. Journal of Public Economics 72, no. 2
(1999): 289-315. (R)
6. Health insurance February 12
Einav, Liran, and Amy Finkelstein. Selection in insurance markets: Theory and empirics in pictures. No. w16723.
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
Cutler, David M., and Richard J. Zeckhauser. The Anatomy of Health Insurance. No. w7176. National Bureau of
Economic Research, 1999.
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Topics in Health Economics ECO402

Anderson, Michael, Carlos Dobkin, and Tal Gross. The effect of health insurance coverage on the use of medical
services. No. w15823. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. (R)
7. Midterm test February 26
8. Population health March 5
Fogel, Robert W. Economic growth, population theory, and physiology: the bearing of long-term processes on the
making of economic policy. No. w4638. National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994.
Cutler, David, and Grant Miller. The role of public health improvements in health advances: the twentieth-century
United States. Demography 42, no. 1 (2005): 1-22. (R)
9. Health in developing countries March 12
Dupas, Pascaline. Health behavior in developing countries. Annual Review of Economics 3, no. 1 (2011): 425-449.
Holla, Alaka, and Michael Kremer. Pricing and access: Lessons from randomized evaluations in education and health.
Center for Global Development, 2009.
Miguel, Edward, and Michael Kremer. Worms: identifying impacts on education and health in the presence of
treatment externalities. Econometrica 72, no. 1 (2004): 159-217. (R)
10. Fetal origins March 19
Almond, Douglas, and Janet Currie. Killing me softly: The fetal origins hypothesis. The Journal of Economic
Perspectives (2011): 153-172.
Almond, Douglas. Is the 1918 Influenza pandemic over? Long-term effects of in utero Influenza exposure in the
post-1940 US population. Journal of Political Economy 114, no. 4 (2006): 672-712. (R)
11. Child health March 26
Almond, Douglas, and Bhashkar Mazumder. Fetal origins and parental responses. Annual Review of Economics 5,
no. 1 (2013): 37-56.
Bleakley, Hoyt. Health, human capital, and development. Annual Review of Economics 2 (2010): 283.
Adhvaryu, Achyuta R., and Anant Nyshadham. Endowments at birth and parents investments in children. Unpublished manuscript, Yale University (2012). (R)
12. Public supply and financing April 2
Cutler, David M. Equality, efficiency, and market fundamentals: the dynamics of international medical-care reform.
Journal of Economic Literature (2002): 881-906.
Tuohy, Carolyn Hughes, and Sherry Glied. The Political Economy of Health Care. in The Oxford handbook of
Health Economics, ed. Glied, Sherry, and Peter Smith. (OUP Oxford, 2013), 59.
Galiani, Sebastian, Paul Gertler, and Ernesto Schargrodsky. Water for life: The impact of the privatization of water
services on child mortality Journal of Political Economy 113, no. 1 (2005): 83-120. (R)
*Readings marked (R) are required. The rest are supplementary. Additional readings may be assigned throughout the course.
Email policy
Students should use school email for all course email correspondence, with the course number (ECO402) in the subject line.
Please note that I will not answer questions which are more suitable for discussion in class, office hours, or whose answers can
be found in the syllabus or the lecture notes.
Request for re-marking
If a student believes a piece of work has not been graded correctly, the student may submit a request for re-marking no later than
two weeks after the work is returned to the student. The request should explicitly state why the student believes more marks
should be allocated, making direct references to the grading scheme. Please note that I will not accept a request for re-marking
of a test written in pencil. In addition, keep in mind that the entire piece of work will be re-marked, therefore it is possible that
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the resulting overall grade may decrease relative to the original grade.
Friday class
Friday time slot may not be used every week. It is primarily reserved for covering relevant concepts in econometrics, review of
test material and practice questions, and discussion of the term project, although it may also be used to cover course material
in addition to the Thursday lecture.
Missed test
Students who miss a term test should inform me via email, with the subject line ECO402 - missed test, prior to the test. The
email should contain the students name, student number, and the reason for missing the test. Medical notes, if applicable, must
be submitted no later than one week after the missed test.
If a student misses a term test, a cumulative make-up test will be given no later than two weeks after the term test. No accommodation will be provided for missing the make-up test, and a grade of 0 will be assigned.
I will accept a medical note only if it satisfies the criteria below:
the note is a fully completed University of Toronto Medical Certificate
the note is from the day of the test
the note is original (not a photocopy and not scanned)
the note is completed by a qualified medical doctor (e.g., not an acupuncturist, chiropractor, or other health care professional)
the note contains doctors OHIP registration number