Reference no: EM132295420

Health Economics Summative Assessment Task - Essay

Please choose one of the following essay topics:

Topic 1:

Economic theory tells us that when the price of a good increases demand for that good will decrease. Use economic theory to show how the demand for cigarettes has changed over time (including both the percentage of population who smoke and the number of tobacco products consumed). What does the evidence tell us about the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes over time and is the price elasticity of demand the same for all population groups? Provide an example of a policy that will impact on the price of cigarettes and the evidence of the effectiveness of this type of policy in reducing demand.

Topic 2:

Contrast technical and allocative efficiency in the health care sector. Discuss how efficiency of managing a health condition such as obesity in the health care sector has changed over time. Provide evidence from the literature of real examples of changes in the health care management of your chosen health condition that illustrate technical and allocative efficiency to support your answer.

Topic 3:

Explain how the production function for a cardiac procedure such as cardiac angioplasty might be affected by a more recent intervention such as cardiac stenting. Use a diagram to explain your answer. Under what conditions will this change in the production function result in lower total cost to the health care sector? Under what conditions will the change result in higher costs to the health care system? Explain your answer using examples from the literature.