The Eco-nomic Institute

Health economists specialise in the study of healthcare systems, its behaviours, and its resources. Though economics is often associated with money, more broadly economics is the study of scarcity and resource allocation. This includes money, but also time, energy, and labour.

Humans do not always act in their rational best interests; for this reason, health economics also encompasses the study of human psychology and behaviour; policy, governance and law; and other socioculturoenvironmental determinants that affect health choices. Although complex mathematical and statistical analyses are often employed, and though these complex systems often take on a life of their own, economics is still fundamentally anthropological- limited by human limits- and for this reason, it’s considered a social science.

A health economist might be employed to study:

• the amount of money that might be saved on late-stage healthcare costs by introducing a new technology, medication, or health policy;
• whether one intervention has more potential long-term cost benefits compared to another;
• the most efficient and effective approach to managing a public health epidemic;
• factors and behaviours driving individual health, and the relative effect of these behaviours on determining health outcomes;
• designing best practice for how we go about measuring and analysing public health and wellbeing.

In other words, we research practical outcomes, as well as design methodologies for best assessment of health and wellbeing.

This might sound simple enough, but it pretty quickly comes up against larger questions: what is health? What is public health? What are the dynamics of a healthcare system? Who are the different actors within this system, and what are their rights and responsibilities? How do we best ensure health and wellbeing outcomes for different groups of people? How do we practically ensure efficient and equitable allocation of resources? What is the biggest ‘bang for our buck’? How do we best manage resources for the future?

Economics was born from moral philosophy; in recent times, economists have argued a purely mechanical approach to understanding the ‘science’ of economics, and left the moral arguments for others. Free-market neoliberal economics suggests that economies should be left alone as much as possible, allowing the economy itself to freely express its own dynamics. However, given the economy is man-made, it often reflects some of our worst attributes: racism, sexism, ableism, inequality, and monopolisation. We can and should continue to exert influence over it, so that we ensure it serves in our best interests, for both the planet and for people. Economic decisions do have real consequences on peoples’ lives, and it’s important that economic thinking is rooted in a set of ethics.

Health economists always work from a particular set of ethics: that economics can serve to achieve better health and wellbeing for people and their communities. It’s a particularly applied form of economics, dealing with the often messy, challenging work of translating research into real-world outcomes.

As a health economist, I aim to:

• Always consider the best economic decisions for health outcomes
• Always consider the environmental consequences of any recommendation, aiming to work as sustainably as possible, and recognising that humanity- and human health- is not separate to, but part of nature.
• Always consider the short, medium, and long-term consequences of any recommendation
• Always consider demographic differences, and these effects on variable health outcomes
• Always consider and respect the human rights of individuals, including their self-definitions and self-determinations of health and wellbeing
• Always extend morals of care, respect, collectivity, and both near and far-sightedness in my praxis as economist

Who are my clients?

My main clients are Government organisations, private corporations, and research institutes. I work with a lot of pharmaceutical companies, medtech companies, venture capitalists, and other stakeholders within the healthcare and sustainability sectors. I also work with hospitals, Clinical Research Organisations (CROs), research institutes, and NGOs.

I particularly enjoy working with innovative, dynamic organisations looking at both big and small questions of improving health outcomes for people while minimising their environmental impact.

If you have any questions or queries about my work, please do get in touch.