Introduction to Health Economics explores the insights that an economic perspective can bring to planning and implementing health services and health systems. The first half of the course focuses on the application of classical and behavioural economic approaches to analysing individual health behaviour and the functioning of health markets. The second half covers the principles and common methods of economic evaluation, particularly cost-effectiveness analysis. Students also acquire basic skills in interpreting and critiquing cost-effectiveness studies.
Master of Public Health in Health Economics
PRICELESS SA is the leading Southern African institution for formal, degreed, postgraduate teaching and mentoring in health economics and decision science.
Our Master of Public Health in Health Economics, established in 2018, will produce health economists equipped to support health policy decision-making in South Africa and the region.
Graduates will be highly skilled to:
- design and conduct health economic evaluations tailored for sub-Saharan Africa
- apply economic approaches to informing policy decisions on the efficient allocation of scarce resources
- provide technical advice to policymakers on using economic policy levers to modify health behaviours.
The three-year, part-time programme is jointly coordinated with the Centre for Health Policy in the Wits School of Public Health. Core courses in public health are compulsory for all Master of Public Health students. Students then specialise in their chosen stream.
Courses for the Health Economics stream
Faculty is drawn from specialists in the Wits School of Health and visiting international experts.
International faculty 2019
- Prof Simon Dixon, Health Economics and Decision Science, School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield
- Prof Andrew Briggs, Chair in Health Economics, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow
For more information from PRICELESS, please email our Research Director Dr Evelyn Thsehla. We welcome your enquires.