Working Paper: NBER ID: w7379
Authors: Victor R. Fuchs
Abstract: This paper discusses health economics as a behavioral science and as input into health policy and health services research. I illustrate the dual role with data on publications and citations of two leading health economics journals and three leading American health economists. Five important, relatively new topics in economics are commended to health economists who focus on economics as a behavioral science. This is followed by suggestions for health economists in their role of providing input to health policy and health services research. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of economics, the role of values, and the potential for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research. The fourth section presents reasons why I believe the strong demand for health economics will continue, and the paper concludes with a sermon addressed primarily to recent entrants to the field.
Keywords: health economics; behavioral science; health policy; health services research
JEL Codes: I11
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| growth in health economics (I10) | influenced by intellectual advances (B15) |
| growth in health economics (I10) | influenced by greater data availability (C80) |
| growth in health economics (I10) | influenced by increasing healthcare expenditures (H51) |
| rising healthcare expenditures (H51) | demand for economic analysis in health policy (I10) |
| health economics papers (I10) | draw heavily from health policy and medical journals (I10) |
| health economists (I10) | contribute significantly to understanding endogenous technology and preferences (O33) |
| market forces (P42) | influence medical innovations (O35) |
| economic behavior (D22) | healthcare outcomes (I11) |
| economic theory (D46) | healthcare practices (I11) |
| principal-agent problem in healthcare (I11) | needs further economic analysis (O22) |