Abstract

CARDOSO, Cláudia. Health economics or Health Care economics?. Tékhne [online]. 2008, n.10, pp.189-198. ISSN 1645-9911.

Arrow (1963) started the discussion about health care markets. However, Grossman (1972) was who presented a model of demand for health, showing that the relevant social concern was health, not health care. Both Arrow and Grossman defended that health care is just one of the variables that explain health. Despite starting from the same premise, they followed different approaches. It is discussed if the discipline usually called ‘health economics’ is mainly health economics, or mainly health care economics; and if we can trace a precise distinction. The conclusion is that the separation exists and that, in the last decades, the health care economics had dominated the research.    

Keywords : economic thought; economic history; health economics; health care economics; research programmes.

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