My big fat tax
Some call economics the dismal science, I call it useful. When it comes to obesity one would argue that it offers the mechanisms to prevent a needless tide of early deaths, spiralling NHS costs and… Read More »My big fat tax
Is a QALY a QALY or not? The SVQ project and the value of life
Back in 2005, NICE and the Department of Health here in the UK set about trying to figure out the level at which society valued a QALY, and also whether different QALYs should be assigned… Read More »Is a QALY a QALY or not? The SVQ project and the value of life
The economics of the ‘nudge’: Why the UK government’s new public health policy won’t work
The UK Government recently announced its plans for “Public Health England”, with ‘nudging’ high on the agenda. What the government considers a ‘nudge’ is unclear, though it seems to mean giving people the opportunity to… Read More »The economics of the ‘nudge’: Why the UK government’s new public health policy won’t work
100 years of the American Economic Review: The top 20 articles
This month the American Economic Review publishes it’s top 20 articles from its 100 year history. As one might have hoped, we see Kenneth Arrow’s 1963 paper, “Uncertainty and the Welfare Economics of Medical Care“,… Read More »100 years of the American Economic Review: The top 20 articles