Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Public Health Care

Public Health Care

Public Health Care

Luigi Siciliani, University of York
Kurt Brekke, Norwegian School of Economics
Mathias Kifmann, University of Hamburg
Odd Rune Straume, University of Minho
July 2025
Available
Hardback
9781009578769

    This Element discusses the role of the government in the financing and provision of public health care. It summarises core knowledge and findings in the economics literature, giving a state-of-the-art account of public health care. The first section is devoted to health system financing. It provides policy rationales for public health insurance which rely on both equity and efficiency, the co-existence of public and private health insurance, how health systems deal with excess demand, and the effect of health insurance expansion. The second section covers the provision of health care and the effect of policy interventions that aim at improving quality and efficiency, including reimbursement mechanisms, competition, public–private mix, and integrated care. The third section is devoted to the market for pharmaceuticals, focusing on the challenges of regulating on-patent and off-patent markets, and discussing the main incentives for pharmaceutical innovation.

    Product details

    July 2025
    Hardback
    9781009578769
    78 pages
    229 × 152 × 6 mm
    0.249kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Introduction
    • 2. Financing of health systems
    • 3. Provision of healthcare
    • 4. Pharmaceuticals
    • 5. Conclusion
    • References.
      Authors
    • Luigi Siciliani , University of York
    • Kurt Brekke , Norwegian School of Economics
    • Mathias Kifmann , University of Hamburg
    • Odd Rune Straume , University of Minho