Health Economics combines current economic theory, recent research, and health policy problems into a comprehensive overview of the field. This thorough update of a classic and widely used text follows author Charles E. Phelps’s 13 years of service as Provost of the University of Rochester.

Accessible and intuitive, early chapters use recent empirical studies to develop essential methodological foundations. Later chapters build on these core concepts to focus on key policy areas, such as the structure and effects of Medicare reform, insurance plans, and new technologies in the health care community.

In the Fourth Edition, a new focus on lifestyle choices—such as alcohol consumption, obesity, and tobacco use—explores how individual choices affect everyday health and the health care system at large. The latest theoretical developments, Medicaid and SCHIP, insurance plans, new technologies, international comparative studies, and policy updates are integrated where appropriate.