Latest Trends in Health Economics Focus of National Conference at Oberlin College Sept. 8-10

August 26, 2006—Twelve of the nation’s leading health economists will discuss their latest research and present papers on topics such as health insurance, pharmaceutical advertising, health behaviors and incentives, and the impact of changes in payment rates on physicians’ decisions September 8-10 at Oberlin College.

The presentations will be the focus of a three-day conference titled "Incentives and Choice in Health Care: The Contributions and Limitations of Economics."

Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO and President of the Cleveland Clinic Health System, and Henry Aaron, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution, will present keynote addresses.

More than a dozen Oberlin alumni who are academics, practitioners, or staff of medical organizations from across the country will discuss the presentations and papers before a public audience of students and members of the broader community. The papers are expected to become a book that will supplement undergraduate texts in health economics.

"Incentives and Choice in Health Care: The Contributions and Limitations of Economics" is sponsored by the Department of Economics and made possible through generous support from Joshua L. Durst ’81, Community Health Partners, and Jeffrey Weidenthal ’85.

For More Information Visit:
the Oberlin Events Calendar

Presenters and Topics

Toby Cosgrove — Cleveland Clinic Health System CEO and President
"Leading Healthcare into a New Economic Paradigm?"

Henry Aaron – The Brookings Institution
 "The Contributions of Health Economics to Public Policy"

Joseph Newhouse and Anna Sinaiko – Harvard University
"What We Know and What we Don’t Know About The Effects of Cost Sharing on Demand for Medical Care and so What"

Ernst Berndt – MIT and Julie Donohue – University of Pittsburgh
"Direct to Consumer Advertising: Does It Work for Good or Bad?"

Donna Gilleskie – University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
"Health Capital: Theory and Empirical Evidence"

John Cawley – Cornell University
"Health Behaviors: Do They Respond to Incentives?"

Paul Gertler – University of California, Berkeley
"How Developing Countries Are Using Case Incentives to Encourage Families to Improve Health Behaviors"

Thomas McGuire – Harvard University
"Physicians as Agents for Patients and the Impact of Changes in Payment Rates on Physicians’ Decisions"

Mark Pauly (University of Pennsylvania)
"Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard: Implications for Health Insurance Markets"

Sean Nicholson (Cornell)
"Medical Career Choices and Rates of Return"

Gautam Gowrisankaran (Washington University, St. Louis)
"Competition, Information Provision, and Hospital Quality"

Frank Sloan (Duke) and Chee-Ruey Hsieh, (Academia Sinica, Taipei)
"Effects of Incentives on Pharmaceutical Innovation"