Health Economics and Policy

Code:

2ME29

Acronym:

EPS

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Economics

Instance: 2025/2026 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Agrupamento Científico de Economia
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Economics

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
ME	8	Official Syllabus after 2021-2022	2	-	6	42	162
MFPE	20	Study plan	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The course provides a set of economic methods specific to the heath sector that enables students to: apply economic skills in healthcare institutions; conduct economic studies about the health sector and its institutions; implement economic analyzes of health policies.

Learning outcomes and competences

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction to health economics

2. Demand for health and demand for healthcare

3. Production of healthcare services

4. Healthcare markets

5. Economic evaluation in healthcare

6. Risk and healthcare financing

7. Health systems and policies

Mandatory literature

Barros, Pedro Luís Pita; Economia da saúde. ISBN: 978-972-40-5374-5

Complementary Bibliography

Stano, Folland Goodman; The economics of health and health care. ISBN: 978-1-29202-051-8
Barbara McPake, Charles Normand e Samantha Smith; Health Economics: An international perspective, 3rd ed., Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-415-68088
Rexford Santerre, Stephen Neun; Health Economics: Theory, Insights and Industry Studies, 6th ed., Cengage Learning, 2012. ISBN: 978-1111822729

Teaching methods and learning activities

Lectures with practical applications, in which the concepts and models of economic analysis are presented and examples and cases are discussed. Classes are conducted in order to maximize the exchange of ideas.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Teste	100,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	120,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

All students may take the final exam, even if they have taken the first test.

Calculation formula of final grade

Distributed evaluation: two tests.
The final classification of the distributed evaluation corresponds to the simple average of the marks obtained in the two tests.

Final exam: classification of the final exam.

Classification improvement

Final exam.

Observations

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
2 - Zero Hunger
3 - Good Health and Well-being
4 - Quality Education
5 - Gender Equality
6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10 - Reduced Inequalities
11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
13 - Climate Action
15 - Life on Land
16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17 - Partnerships for the Goals