Principles of Health Economics for Developing Countries (WBI Development Studies) - Softcover

Jack, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0821345710 ISBN 13: 9780821345719

Publisher: World Bank Publications, 1999

Synopsis

Health indicators in developing countries have shown significant improvement in the last 50 years. People are living longer, fewer children and their mothers die in childbirth, and many diseases have been controlled and some eliminated. However, the health status of individuals in these countries remains below its potential level, and many people lack access to suitable health care and health-promoting services. There is still much to be achieved in the promotion of health care and well-being of individuals in the developing world. In recent years, the efficient and equitable provision of health care has been at the center of public debate. Many developing countries have adopted health sector reforms and implemented new health policies and programs. This book provides an economic framework that will foster an understanding of the allocation of broadly defined health care resources and aid the design and analysis of policies that affect health care outcomes. It provides a modern treatment of health economics for developing as well as industrial countries. It addresses both positive and normative issues in the economics of health care and insurance.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Foreword

The efficient and equitable provision of health care has been at the center of public debate in recent years, and many countries in the developing world have adopted health sector reforms and implemented new health policies and programs. Until now, most health economics textbooks and training materials have dealth with industrial country experience. However, as universities, as well as public and professional bodies, in the developing world have begun to equip students and practitioners with the analytical tools to help inform policy decisions and improve research methods, the need for an appropriate text has become apparent.

In its efforts to build capacity among its clients, the World Bank Institute recognizeds the importance of building strong foundations in analytical skills. This volume addresses that need, providing a modern treatment of health economics for developing and industrial countries. It addresses both positive and normative issues in the economics of health care and health insurance, drawing on agency theory, welfare economics, econometrics, and development economics. While rigorous in its approach, it presents intuitive expositions of the underlying ideas and draws them together in its discussion of policy objectives and design.

The book is intended for use by advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students of economics and international development, researchers, health policy professionals, and policymakers in industrial and developing countries alike.

I believe this book to be a valuable contribution to the health sector, and hope that it will be widely read and adopted by training institutes and university faculties around the world.--Vinod Thomas, Director, World Bank Institute

Edition details

• Publisher: World Bank Publications
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0821345710
• ISBN 13: 9780821345719
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304