The pharmacoeconomics of heart failure are relatively easy to analyse for two reasons. Firstly, suYcient data on resource utilisation, such as hospital bed days or drug consumption, are available; net patient costs are easily identifiable and measurable in monetary terms. Secondly, the outcome, in terms of mortality, morbidity, and lost quality of life, is also straightforward to measure owing ...

Environmental economics has made numerous contributions to both the theory and the applied problems surrounding pollution control. Given that the primary benefits of controlling most pollutants are health benefits, there is a close link between human health and environmental economics. One of the most important contributions that economics has made to the problem of pollution control is to clar...

Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Resources are spent in order to prevent, diagnose, and treat breast cancer. Since health care resources are limited, these resources must be allocated in an optimal way in order to maximise health. Currently, there are several different interventions available for breast cancer, and new interventions are under development. As new techno...

It has been said that “goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous.”1 Peter Diamond is one of those extremely rare people who combine knowledge and goodness. Indeed—and I hope this doesn’t offend anyone in the room—Peter is probably the smartest person I know. In addition to that, he is simply a wonderful person and colleague. I am thrilled that th...

One group is likely to benefit especially from the proposed changes in the National Health Service: economists. As more emphasis is placed on market transactions so the demand for economic analysis will grow. The age of "econocrats" is about to begin.' Hence the importance of looking critically at the discipline and its claim to use rational techniques ofanalysis to resolve the complex problems...

This article reviews the ways in which neoclassical economics is applied to health issues in developing countries. It identifies some of the problems that arise from the application of standard neoclassical theory to the health sector of developing countries. This theory, while helpful in some respects, does not seem to be adequate for understanding the complexities of the health issues facing ...