ECON 4421, Section 1: Health Economics

Syllabus – Fall 2021

Professor: Barton Willage, PhD E-mail: bwillage@lsu.edu
Office Hours: M & W Noon - 1:00, or by appointment
(OFFICE HOURS WILL BE ON ONLINE)
Class Time: M & W 3:00 - 4:20, 1305 Business Education Complex

My own COVID syllabus statement:

1. Masks required covering nose and mouth. If you cannot wear a mask, I will livestream and
record all lectures for remote learning.
2. Do not come to class if you are sick.
3. Things might change for unforeseen circumstances; this syllabus is my best guess about this
semester. If you have problems, please let me know and we can try to figure them out.

Required Text:
While there is no textbook for this class, readings are an important aspect of the course. Links to
journal articles and other required readings will be upload/linked on Moodle.

Prerequisite:
Principles of Economics (ECON 2000 and ECON 2010, or ECON 2030).

Course Objective:
1) To instill in you the ability and habit of thinking about health through an economics lens.
2) To teach you to digest information about health in a critical manner.
3) To help you understand the institutional landscape of health determinants.

Exams:
There will be one in-class exam and a final exam (administered according to LSU's Final
Examination Schedule). Make-up exams are only administered in extreme circumstances, so
please do not miss exam days. Excuses for missed exams must be pre-approved except when this
is not possible in an emergency situation. Personal travel (vacation) is not considered an excused
absence, so be careful not to make travel plans that might overlap with exams. If you are sick,
you should email me about it before the exam. Documentation is required to validate illness or
other emergency.

Assignments:
The primary out-of-class work will short writing assignments but there may be other (more
traditional) homework assignments. There will be four 1-page assignments. This must be about
your own life (do not just use examples from the internet). There will also be an end-of-the-
semester project. Assignments are due BEFORE class starts via MOODLE in PDF.
Assignments turned in within 24 hours of the start of class will lose 2 letter grades, and is not
accepted after 24 hours. Turn it in early, because you might have technical issues.

Review questions and questionnaires are part of your grade; you must do them; do not leave
blank. For questionnaires, I will indicate which questions you can put “NA” or “Not applicable”,
but answer all other questions.
Attendance:
I will not take attendance but I strongly encourage you to come to class. This class is hard, and
lectures will help you understand the material. No need for doctor’s note unless you missed an
assignment. DO NOT COME TO CLASS IF YOU ARE SICK.

Children in Class:
1) Infants that exclusively breastfeed are allowed in class as often as needed.
2) While not a long-term childcare solution, occasionally bringing a child to class in order to
cover GAPS in childcare is perfectly acceptable.
3) If you bring an infant or child to class, please sit close to the door and step outside if they
need attention and are disrupting class.
4) Other students, please be respectful and do not make too much of a fuss. One “aww” per
student.
5) My understanding is that being a parent is exhausting. While I maintain the same standards
for all students, I am happy to work with students to problem-solve for unique situations.

Other:
Academic honesty is expected. All students are required to read and be familiar with the Code of
Student Conduct found at http://www.lsu.edu/saa/students/codeofconduct.php.

Students with disabilities who wish to request special accommodations are encouraged to contact
me either by appointment or during office hours. To receive accommodation, you must first
contact the Office of Disability Services, see http://www.lsu.edu/disability/.

I suggest reviewing the readings before the class; you will get more out the lectures. I strongly
suggest reviewing the slides after the lecture so that you can figure out what is not clicking.
Sometimes, there will be short quizzes in the next lecture to make sure everyone is following.

What to do if you are struggling?

1) Though you must do your own assignments, you are allowed to work/talk with each other
about assignments. Copying will not help you understand, and understanding will be tested on
exams. Studying together will give you an opportunity to learn from your classmates.
2) Check-out the Center for Academic Success at http://www.lsu.edu/cas/. They have several
services http://www.lsu.edu/students/cas/about/services/tutoring.php.
3) Talk to me at office hours or by e-mail. Do not wait until the end of the semester.

Grade Breakdown: (Grades follow standard 60/70/80/90% letter)

Short Assignments 15%
Other (quiz, review questions, questionnaires, etc) 10%
Project (inc peer eval) 25%
In-Class Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Tentative Schedule (M indicates on Moodle)
Mixtape can be found here: Link
Date Topic
August
M, 23 1. Overview of the course
W, 25 2. Overview of health econ  Health and its determinants (M)
 Economic Perspective (p 133-138)
 Health Care Spending (Abstract)
M, 30 3. Determining effects  Mixtape (p 81-93, 95-103)
(ignore Stata code)
September
W, 1 4. Public health (Disease: Epi. transition)  Epi Transition (p 736-741)
 London Cholera
 Handwashing
M, 6 5. Labor Day CLASS CANCELLED
W, 8 6. Public health (Modern issues)  Pollution / Youtube
 Nutrition
ONE-PAGER DUE  SNAP/In-kind transfers, (p 109-120)
M, 13 7. Social determinants of health  Healthy People 2020
W, 15 8. Market Demand, Slutsky, Surplus Review Q Due
M, 20 9. Health behaviors (Overview, Theory)  Econ of Risky Health Behav
(p 97-110, 2.1, 2.3, 2.7, 3.2-2.5.1)
W, 22 10. Health behaviors (Drinking; Method - RD)  Mixtape (p 153-171)
 Carpenter and Dobkin (138-156)
ONE-PAGER DUE
M, 27 11. Health behaviors (Sex; Method - diff-in-  Mixtape (p 263-285)
diff)  Indoor Prostitution
 Condoms in Schools
PROJECT IDEAS DUE
W, 29 12. Health behaviors (Diet/Exercise;  Mixtape (p 205-214)
Method - IV)  Exercise
 Soda Tax
ONE-PAGER DUE  Labor Market
October
M, 4 13. Health behaviors (Smoking)  Cost of Smoking
 Master settlement
REVIEW Q’s DUE  Education and Smoking
W, 6 14. Insurance (Math, Institutional features)  YouTube Math Video
 Overview
M, 11 15. Review
W, 13 16. Class canceled or reserved for make up
M, 18 17. Exam
 October
W, 20 18. Insurance (Institutional features)  Employer
 Medicare (Ch 8, p 79-88)
 Medicaid (Ch 9, p 97-105)
M, 25 19. Insurance (Problems, Solutions)  Moral hazard, theory
 Moral hazard, video
 Solution?
 Adverse selection
W, 27 20. Insurance (Uninsured, Effect of Insurance)  Uninsured (Ch 7)
 Does insurance save lives?
November
M, 1 21. Insurance (Affordable Care Act)  5 Years In
 KFF Summary
ONE-PAGER DUE
W, 3 22. Doctors  Costs
 Licensing
PAPERS DUE  Prior authorizations
M, 8 23. Hospitals  Bills
 Quality matters (Abstract)
 Principal Agent Problem?
W, 10 24. Pharma  Pricing
 Competition
PRESENTATION or CRITQUES DUE
PEER EVALS DUE
M, 15 25. Presentations
W, 17 26. Presentations
M, 22 27. Class canceled or reserved for make up Review Q Due
REVIEW Q’s DUE
W, 24 28. Thanksgiving CLASS CANCELLED
M, 29 29. Presentations
December
W, 1 30. Review and Catch-Up 1-Pager Due
T, 7 10:00am - noon Final Exam

Minor revisions of policies in this syllabus may be made, and you will be notified.