Description

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An ideal entry point into health economics for everyone from aspiring economists to healthcare professionals.

The economics of healthcare are messy. For most consumers, there’s little control over costs or services. Sometimes doctors are paid a lot; other times they aren’t paid at all. Insurance and drug companies are evil, except when they’re not. If economics is the study of market efficiency, how do we make sense of this?

Better Health Economics is a warts-and-all introduction to a field that is more exceptions than rules. Economists Tal Gross and Matthew J. Notowidigdo offer readers an accessible primer on the field’s essential concepts, a review of the latest research, and a framework for thinking about this increasingly imperfect market.

A love letter to a traditionally unlovable topic, Better Health Economics provides an ideal entry point for students in social science, business, public policy, and healthcare. It’s a reminder that healthcare may be a failed market—but it’s our failed market.

About the Author

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Tal Gross is associate professor of markets, public policy, and law at Boston University and a research associate for NBER.

Matthew J. Notowidigdo is the David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a research associate of NBER.

Praise For…

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“At long last, a concise but comprehensive, conversational, and accessible tour of modern health economics. Better Health Economics is chock full of insights and covers an impressive range of important topics. This is how to teach health economics!"
— Amy Finkelstein | coauthor of "We've Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care"

"An accessible, readable—and often funny!—tour through health economics. Gross and Notowidigdo are master teachers."
— Emily Oster | author of "Expecting Better: Why The Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong–And What You Really Need To Know"

"Gross and Notowidigdo prove that learning about the economics of health does not have to be a painful experience. Each of the chapters is an easy-to-swallow dose of insights into this complex and important part of our economy. Who knew this stuff could be fun?"
— Richard Thaler | winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics