Essays in Health Economics

Abstract

This body of research presents robust contributions to the field of health economics through eight closely related papers. Each addresses key policy challenges with methodological advances and new evidence. Amid rising healthcare costs associated with chronic conditions and infectious diseases, investments in biomedical research, public health, and preventive care are crucial for reducing disease and economic burdens. Despite potential long-term economic gains, current practices in health economic evaluations often overlook broader value elements of health innovations like positive externalities and human capital improvements. Without comprehensive analytical frameworks, health innovations risk being undervalued and under-adopted. The literature increasingly recommends macroeconomic models like computable general equilibrium (CGE) to capture the economy-wide impacts of health shocks, linking health to human capital and enabling comparisons with other public investments.
Papers 1 to 6 contribute to this emerging literature by using CGE models to assess the economic value of health innovations and the economic returns of policies promoting population health. Specifically, papers 1 and 6 make key methodological contributions by highlighting how widely applied health evaluation methods underestimate the value of health innovations or by introducing a finite time constraint to quantify the value of time saved through more efficient healthcare access. Papers 2 to 5 provide new evidence on the economic burden of lifestyle risk factors (physical inactivity and insufficient sleep) and the economic returns of public health interventions to improve adolescent sleep outcomes or provide equitable access to vaccinations, shaping public debate and policy decisions. Paper 7 underscores the importance of including robustly estimated productivity effects in assessing the economic burden of health conditions. Paper 8 shows that government and charity-funded biomedical research complements private- sector research, leading to substantial long-term economic returns.
The eight papers advance the understanding of health innovations' broader economic impacts, contributing directly to scientific knowledge and policymaking.

Date of Award	31 Jan 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Portsmouth
Supervisor	Ali Onder (Supervisor) & Joe Cox (Supervisor)