Schedule

Below is a breakdown of topics for each class day this semester. Assignments are also listed according to their due dates. The associated links take you to additional information relevant for that day or for that assignment. The Details link provides specific readings for that class and any supplemental materials; the Slides link takes you to the relevant slides for that day; and the Assignment link takes you to the relevant details for each assignment. Each heading is also linked to a broader literature review for that topic, containing many more papers than we will cover in class. For those of you interested in learning more about a particular topic, this is a good place to start.

Welcome to the class!

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
1 1/17 Economics of healthcare

Module 1: Health insurance

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
2 1/19 Background
3 1/22 Demand for Healthcare and Health Insurance
4 1/24 Effects of Health Insurance
5 1/26 Research proposals (demo)
6 1/29 New Research in HI Demand
7 1/31 Adverse Selection
8 2/2 Research proposals
9 2/5 Competition in Health Insurance
10 2/7 New Research in HI Markets
11 2/9 Research proposals

Module 2: Healthcare variation and physician agency

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
12 2/12 Background
13 2/14 Variation and Agency
14 2/16 Research proposals
15 2/19 Different Mechanisms of Agency
16 2/21 Different Dimensions of Agency
17 2/23 Research proposals

Module 3: Pricing and competition

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
18 2/26 Background
19 2/28 Horizontal Integration
20 3/1 Research proposals
21 3/4 Different Forms of Integration
22 3/6 Different Outcomes and Settings
23 3/8 Research proposals

Module 4: Information disclosure

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
24 3/18 Background
25 3/20 Disclosure and Patient Choice
26 3/22 Research proposals
27 3/25 Disclosure and Provider Response
28 3/27 Disclosure of What and to Whom?
29 3/29 Research proposals

Module 5: Physician learning and technology adoption

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
30 4/1 Background
31 4/3 Myopic Learning
32 4/5 Research proposals
33 4/8 Forward-looking Learning
34 4/10 Learning and Technology Adoption
35 4/12 Research proposals

Module 6: Waste and fraud

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
36 4/15 Background
37 4/17 Sources of Waste
38 4/19 Research proposals
39 4/22 Fraud and Overuse
40 4/24 Strategies to Avoid Fraud
41 4/26 Research proposals
Empirical exercises

Final Research Plans

Class Dates Topic Details Slides Assignment
42 4/29 Research plans