Administrative data and data linkage; collecting health
data for econometric analysis; categorical data methods; count data; duration analysis; econometric evaluation by non-experimental methods; econometric evaluation with randomized experiments; econometrics in technology assess- ment; macro panels; models of health care costs; models for risk adjustment; panel data methods; productivity analysis; simulation methods and mixture models; spatial econometrics.
Statistics is a broad and complex field. For a given research question any number of statistical approaches could be taken. In an article published last year, researchers asked 61 analysts to use the same dataset to address the question of… Read More »Poor statistical communication means poor statistics
When we think of the causal effect of living in one neighbourhood compared to another we think of how the social interactions and lifestyle of that area produce better outcomes. Does living in an area with more obese people cause me to… Read More »The trouble with estimating neighbourhood effects, part 2
Once a month we discuss a particular research method that may be of interest to people working in health economics. We’ll consider widely used key methodologies, as well as more novel approaches. Our reviews are not designed to be comprehensive… Read More »Method of the month: Semiparametric models with penalised splines
Once a month we discuss a particular research method that may be of interest to people working in health economics. We’ll consider widely used key methodologies, as well as more novel approaches. Our reviews are not designed to be comprehensive… Read More »Method of the month: Synthetic control
The 1987 Bamako declaration promoted user or consultation fees for health care as a means to raise revenue and improve the quality of services. However, user fees may pose a barrier to access, and hence the key Sustainable Development Goal… Read More »Are user fees a barrier to health care in poor countries?
Health Econometrics Using Stata Partha Deb, Edward C. Norton, Willard G. Manning Paperback, 264 pages, ISBN: 978-1-59718-228-7, published 31 August 2017 Amazon / Google Books / Stata Press This book is the perfect guide to understanding the various econometric methods available… Read More »Review: Health Econometrics Using Stata (Partha Deb et al)
Despite widespread cautionary messages, p-values and claims of statistical significance are continuously misused. One of the most common errors is to mistake statistical significance for economic, clinical, or political significance. This error may manifest itself by authors interpreting only ‘statistically significant’… Read More »Widespread misuse of statistical significance in health economics
I’m beginning to think Jeremy Hunt doesn’t actually care what the evidence says on the weekend effect. Last week, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking criticized Hunt for ‘cherry picking’ evidence with regard to the ‘weekend effect’: that patients admitted at the… Read More »Hawking is right, Jeremy Hunt does egregiously cherry pick the evidence
A good illustration of the muddles that p-values can get us in appeared recently on HealthNewsReview.com. HealthNewsReview examines and debunks the often hyped-up claims about medicines that appear in the media. But last week they “called BS” on a claim… Read More »What’s the significance of this?
It is a contentious issue in philosophy whether an omission can be the cause of an event. At the very least it seems we should consider causation by omission differently from ‘ordinary’ causation. Consider Sarah McGrath’s example. Billy promised Alice to… Read More »Are we estimating the effects of health care expenditure correctly?