Health Economics Research at McMaster University

McMaster is home to dynamic research programs that cover a wide array of topics in health economics.

Our programs encompass the full spectrum of methodological approaches used in health economics, bridging foundational economic science with research that directly addresses specific health policy issues. Explore our working papers listed below.

Health Economics Research at McMaster includes:

  • Economics of Health: covering the determinants of health in populations, assessing population health, and exploring the impacts of poor health.
  • Economics of Health Care Systems: including the financing and funding of care, the organization of healthcare delivery systems, and the behaviours of health system stakeholders.
  • Economic Evaluation of Technologies, Services and Programs: with an emphasis on innovative new technologies that challenge contemporary healthcare systems.

Highlights of Health Economics Research at McMaster University

  • We utilize a comprehensive range of methodological approaches, including advanced econometric techniques, experimental economics, qualitative methods, and mixed-methods approaches.
  • Our research advances the academic field of health economics and deepens our understanding of specific health sector challenges through collaborative, interdisciplinary research efforts.
  • We are funded by national and international health research agencies with grants totalling millions of dollars annually, and supported by a team of over 30 research staff across various departments and health research centres.
  • Our research is renowned for its excellence, frequently appearing in top international journals covering health economics, health policy, health services research, and clinical studies.

Primary Research Focus Areas

Below, we outline several key areas of ongoing research.

For more detailed information about specific projects and publications, please visit the McMaster Experts profiles of individual faculty members or relevant research units, such as the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA).

Determinants of Health and Health Inequalities

  • Measurement of health inequality in populations.
  • Impact of income and socioeconomic factors on health inequalities.
  • Role of health in intergenerational transmission of income inequality.
  • Impact of child health and abuse on adult outcomes.
  • The relationship between health behaviours, health outcomes and social position.
  • Impact of labour market conditions of physical and mental health.
  • Social capital and health inequalities in France.
  • Determinants of sickness leaves.
  • Conceptual frameworks for thinking about the determinants of population health.

Equity in Health Systems

  • Methods for and estimation of horizontal equity in the utilization of health care services.
  • Impact of health policies on equity in the utilization of health care.
  • Public preferences regarding equity in health and health care.
  • The distributions of risks to health, utilization of health care, and outcomes from interventions within populations.

Health Care Financing

  • Public and private roles in health care financing.
  • Parallel systems of public and private finance.
  • The individual and social benefits of health care insurance.
  • Health insurance and access to care, especially for low-income populations.
  • User charges in health care.
  • Coverage decision making.

Health Care Funding and Resource Allocation

  • Development of needs-based capitation payment formulae for geographically defined and enrolled populations.
  • Provider responses to payment incentives.
  • Provider remuneration and system funding models in the context of public health.
  • Challenges of cross-sectoral policy development and resource re-allocation to improve action on the individual determinants of the health of populations.

Health Human Resources

  • Development and application of a population needs-based analytic framework.
  • Task shifting.
  • Stepped care and its impact on healthcare expenditure.

Health Technology Assessment

  • Numerous projects underway regarding the assessment of specific health care technologies.
  • Development of methods for the economic assessment of health care technologies.
  • Health technology assessment and policy decision making.

Economics of Aging

  • Economic benefits of health aging.
  • Aging and public health expenditures.
  • Age and medical progress.

Economics of Health Behaviours

  • The impact of public policies on health behaviours. For example: the impact of fiscal policies on tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use. The impact of packaging policies on tobacco use.
  • Cigarette tax avoidance and evasion.

Methods of Economics Analysis

  • Econometric-based methods of program evaluation.
  • Longitudinal methods for health data.
  • Methods for the economic evaluation of health care technologies, services and programs.
  • Application of experimental economic methods to health research.

Working Papers

Explore the latest breakthroughs in health economics with our collection of working papers. These studies highlight innovative methodologies and emerging findings, offering valuable insights into current trends and issues.

From global market trends to policy analysis and theoretical models, these papers provide deep insights that influence both academia and real-world decision-making. View our latest working papers through the links below:

Department of Economics Working Papers

CHEPA Working Papers

Research Institute for Quantitative Studies in Economics and Population – QSEP Research Report Series

McMaster Decision Science Laboratory (McDSL) – Research & Publications