Political Economy of Health

The recent policy reforms launched in the UK National Health System coupled with the challenges faced by health systems globally with the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasise the need for a better understanding of how healthcare systems function, how they are financed, and how strategic policies are developed to ensure the provision of care to the highest quality standards. In this module, students will understand how the state and other private and public health-related institutions and processes influence health systems' performance. Moreover, the module will explore the demographic and socio-economic challenges faced by healthcare systems, particularly in terms of power and resources contested in the health sector. The module is intended to address the gap in health economics that often ignores the developments of the political economy in health systems. This module is relevant for students from several backgrounds, as the focus will be both on politics and economics and their interface in terms of health and healthcare.

The module will use extensive links to government, the NHS, charities, and the private sector to support students’ learning.

Course leader

Professor Nora Colton

Target group

This is a level one module (equivalent to first year undergraduate). No prior subject knowledge is required to study this module but students are expected to have a keen interest in the subject area.

Course aim

Upon successful completion of this module, students will:

describe the policymaking and financing of health systems
recognise the changes taking place in the NHS
assess critically texts and articles on politics and economics of health and healthcare from an interdisciplinary perspective.
design a health-related reform using a political economy approach.
demonstrate an ability to present proposed health-related reforms and findings and communicate, ideas, problems, and solutions to various stakeholders
use a range of web-based technologies to undertake political economy analysis and assess health and healthcare issues and challenges.
explain critically and strategically challenges in healthcare and related subsectors

Credits info

7.5 EC
7.5 ECTS, 4 US, 15 UCL

Fee info

GBP 2350: There is a built-in tuition fee discount for students who study for 6 weeks (both sessions).