Health Economics
The official Bluesky account of Health Economics. Featuring theoretical contributions, empirical studies and analyses of health policy from the economic perspective.
- 🚨 New Issue Alert 🚨 The March 2026 issue of Health Economics explores how policy, institutions, and early-life conditions shape health over the life course—from primary care access and income gradients to pandemics, tax credits, and intergenerational effects. tinyurl.com/4kvxpekb
- New research from Kenya: Giving a mother just 1 extra year of education reduces her child’s risk of stunting by 3.8% and underweight by 2.6%. 📚🇰🇪 It’s not just a correlation — it’s a causal "intergenerational lift." 📈 tinyurl.com/3bu4f825
- Expanding prescription drug coverage can reduce severe antimicrobial resistance. New research shows Medicare Part D led to 42.4 fewer AMR-related hospitalizations per 100k people. 📉 Improved access = timely treatment = fewer severe infections. tinyurl.com/mrx9tmv8
- Public investment in global health research can pay off — locally. New evidence shows that returning African scientists trained through @NIH programs boost HIV research, grants, trials, and policy impact at home. tinyurl.com/259rxc3t
- 🚨 New Research: Confinement during the pandemic was a major factor in Japan’s rising female suicide rates. 📉 Study shows ~35% of suicides among females <20 were linked to staying at home. We must prioritize social connection in future public health plans. tinyurl.com/3d2d3hm4
- How do insurers respond when patients face multiple health risks? Evidence from Chile’s private health system shows strong asymmetric information across risks, shaping premiums, plan design, and who gets covered. Risk selection is more complex than we think. tinyurl.com/26s93chm
- Is European health progress truly "fair"? 🌍 New data shows income-based health looks progressive, but when you factor in parental background and job status, the trend reverses. 📉 🏥 Italy leads in favorable dynamics. 🚻 Women lead in IT/DE; men in FI. tinyurl.com/yj8wh4vw
- Spending $1 on fossil fuel subsidies can cost $0.35 in public health funding. 💸🏥 A new 126-country study reveals how these subsidies "crowd out" health budgets, stalling progress on #SDG3. The choice: cheap fuel or healthy people? 🌍 tinyurl.com/36ec52z5
- China’s Zero-Markup Drug Policy reshaped prescribing incentives. New evidence shows doctors’ choices respond far more to hospital profit margins than patient prices—cutting costs and improving patient welfare. tinyurl.com/5yxymscm
- Disability insurance doesn’t always replace work. Evidence from Italy shows that when benefits can be combined with earnings, higher DI generosity raises take-up but has only minor effects on employment. DI can function as a complement to labor income. tinyurl.com/2ewarya5
- A new study finds that early exposure to the Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit shapes later child health in different ways across families. The reason isn’t the credit itself — it’s how families adjust childcare arrangements when policy nudges their options. tinyurl.com/4fh57v6z
- New research from Germany shows that regular grandparental care boosts parents’ well-being — especially mothers — but comes with a small trade-off: children cared for by grandparents show slightly poorer health outcomes. A real-world care puzzle. tinyurl.com/3rrhfnkv
- Does free insurance improve access? Evidence from France says yes. A study of a means-tested complementary insurance program shows that lowering out-of-pocket costs boosts care use among low-income patients. tinyurl.com/yyp5ra95
- A new study shows that stronger labor market policies improve maternal mental health before pregnancy. A $1 rise in the minimum wage cuts pre-pregnancy depression by 8.5%, and a $100 increase in the state EITC lowers it by 1.5%. Income support matters early. tinyurl.com/45ntn6rn
- New evidence shows that growing up in families receiving larger Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits reduces work disability in adulthood. Long-term income support does more than fight poverty — it shapes lifelong health. tinyurl.com/4ww5hjtr
- Health Economics Volume 35, Issue 1 is out. The cover looks calm. The papers inside are anything but — sharp methods, tough questions, and a few results that challenge conventional wisdom. Don't judge a journal by its cover — even when it looks this good! tinyurl.com/4kvxpekb
- A new study shows why preterm birth and low birth weight should be analyzed together, not separately. Using a copula-based model, the authors reveal strong joint risks and clear geographic and maternal factors that shape them. Better tools, better targeting. tinyurl.com/bp5ypwzk
- In-utero exposure to COVID medical-procedure delay orders raised the likelihood of an adverse birth-outcome diagnosis by 13% (from a 6% baseline) and pushed prenatal care toward telehealth. Delaying “non-urgent” pregnancy care has real costs. tinyurl.com/5rtuy5y7
- China’s 2006 campaign against a major parasitic infection dramatically improved more than health. Children exposed in utero later had fewer outpatient visits, better nutrition, and stronger school outcomes. Fighting neglected diseases builds human capital. tinyurl.com/ycx3r45f
- 1/ Primary care is drowning in demand. Policymakers keep pushing “scale” as the fix. But does scaling up actually produce more care? New evidence from 6,149 GP practices in England gives a rare, data-driven answer. tinyurl.com/mpbmvbd2 🧵 👇
- New evidence from Germany shows that income matters more for well-being when people are sick. The marginal utility of income rises in sickness, implying insurance is more valuable than standard models assume. Sickness has a real “fixed cost.”
- Argentina’s zero-tolerance drunk-driving laws didn’t deliver. A new study finds no drop in traffic deaths and higher injury rates after adoption, with little change in drinking behavior. Tough rules didn’t shift the risks that matter. Policy intent ≠ policy impact. tinyurl.com/7dkxbbw9
- Most health studies model doctor and non-doctor visits separately. This paper shows why that misses the point: the two are tightly linked, driven by shared behaviors and unobserved traits. Joint modeling reveals who actually uses care—and how. 👉 tinyurl.com/5e7zanfu
- New US claims data show a sharp ⬇️ in children’s asthma medication adherence during COVID — especially among the youngest children. Evidence points to parental attention as a key driver. Mail-order refills softened the decline. tinyurl.com/2mv5a85d
- A nationwide study of maternity ward closures in Norway finds no evidence of worse infant or maternal health and no long-term harm. Centralization changed where people deliver, not how well they do. tinyurl.com/yaja53p4
- Can paying people to vaccinate backfire? A new study finds that 1 in 7 vaccine-hesitant adults who would have accepted a COVID-19 shot declined when offered money. Incentives reduced trust in vaccine safety & weakened prosocial motivation to vaccinate. tinyurl.com/4r885vkx
- When outpatient care becomes affordable, patients don’t just visit the clinic more—they uncover hidden health needs. A new study finds that expanded chronic disease coverage in China increased both outpatient and inpatient use, revealing the cost of delayed care. tinyurl.com/4rnx2tyf
- New study finds that U.S. regions hardest hit by Japan’s manufacturing surge in the 1970s–80s saw higher cardiovascular & drug-related deaths among Black workers, but not whites. Trade shocks can deepen health inequality. tinyurl.com/ms3zm6su
- Cleaner air, healthier beginnings 🌎👶 A new study finds that the EPA’s air-quality reforms did more than cut pollution—they improved lives from birth. 💡 Low birth weight ↓ 5.5% 💡 Very preterm births ↓ 13% 💡 Biggest gains for Black, low-educated & single mothers tinyurl.com/2pachbzr
- Enhanced social care can reshape healthcare use. A new study finds that after joining Australia’s NDIS, people with disability made fewer subsidized mental & allied health visits—suggesting social care may replace, not raise, demand for clinical care. tinyurl.com/ywesp92z
- When maternity wards are crowded, mothers receive fewer medical interventions—and newborns fare better. Evidence from Norway suggests that “less can be more” in healthcare. Read the study in Health Economics: tinyurl.com/mpd5w3yj
- 🤖 Can robots make us healthier? A new study finds that regions with higher robot adoption show ⬇️ in chronic diseases. As robots replace physically demanding jobs, they may reduce worker stress & improve overall wellbeing. tinyurl.com/yj2mf926
- When a spouse dies, the surviving partner’s need for institutional long-term care spikes—by 1.5 percentage point within 3 months, then fades by 10. Early post-bereavement support is key to sustaining “aging-in-place.” Read our new paper: tinyurl.com/zpubkxhu
- Do paid-sick-leave laws change how workers care for others? A new study finds that while state mandates don’t affect overall caregiving, they boost adult care—especially for parents and older adults—among workers newly covered by paid sick leave. tinyurl.com/5n8hjfa9
- 📢 New in Health Economics: The first large-scale longitudinal study (25,000 adults, 14 years) shows how #hope shapes health, education, work, resilience & social outcomes. tinyurl.com/4e43zeyb @brookings.edu @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social
- To drink or not to drink? 🥂 New in Health Economics: Cognitive skills link to frequent but lighter drinking, noncognitive skills lower risky use, while social skills raise both consumption and binge risk. tinyurl.com/3dftmvs4
- 📉 The ACA reduced uninsured rates—but not equally. In the U.S. South, counties in states with less oppressive racial histories gained far more than neighbors across the border with deeper Jim Crow legacies. History still shapes who benefits from reform: tinyurl.com/537z5ysx
- 📈 Once niche, health economics is now central to the field. A new study shows its share in top journals tripled since the 1990s—driven not by conformity, but by innovative, high-quality research. Health is shaping the future of economics.
- 👣 In Ethiopia, untreated clubfoot cuts children’s mobility, mental health & schooling significantly. Early Ponseti treatment restores up to 71–82% of lost human flourishing. A $500 intervention with life-changing impact.
- In Sweden, mothers with less schooling were more likely to vaccinate after reading scientific messages. But emotional survivor stories backfired—reducing uptake among high school–educated mothers. 🎯Targeted framing can shift outcomes.
- Flu season is coming. 🍂💉 A French study shows that invitation letters & free vouchers boost vaccination—especially among the most risk-averse. Clearer, targeted campaigns could save thousands. tinyurl.com/y7frzfk2 @universityofleeds.bsky.social
- Does the way we frame #contraceptive effectiveness change people’s choices? New evidence shows risk and time framings—“5% will get pregnant” vs “95% won’t”—shift preferences in measurable ways.
- Can stronger employer responsibilities improve workplace accommodation for sick workers? A new study from the Netherlands finds no significant impact on accommodations, but reveals firms are opting out of public insurance to manage costs themselves.
- How can governments better target #health insurance for those most in need? A new study from #Indonesia applies machine learning to improve enrollment strategies—showing data-driven approaches can enhance efficiency & equity. Read the full paper here:
- New research finds that Chinese-funded transportation infrastructure in Africa significantly improved child health, particularly during the construction phase. The likely mechanism? Mothers' increased paid employment during this period. 👶🚧 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
- What happens to malpractice costs when states repeal noneconomic damage caps?Evidence from Georgia & Illinois shows insurance premiums jump 📈 —especially in OB-GYN & surgery—with stronger effects after State Supreme Court rulings. 👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
