About us
Economists explore the choices individuals, organisations and governments make when faced with scarce resources. They look to answer questions about what, how and for whom to produce. Economists are interested in the health sector because of:
- the size of national spending on health.
- the role of private sector businesses.
- the impact health plays on other sectors of the economy.
We are a group of health economists doing applied research to help inform decisions about allocating available resources to promote health and provide health care.
We work across the University in the following faculties:
Faculty of Medicine
- Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education
- Southampton Health Technology Assessment Centre
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
Research themes
Economic evaluation and modelling
- economic evaluations to assess value for money of health and care interventions and services to inform decision making.
- HTA and NICE submissions - reviewing and critically appraising pharmaceutical and industry economic models submitted to NICE.
- equity - modelling distributional effects across socioeconomic groups.
Population health and behavioural economics
- experimental studies on food choices looking at risk perception and behaviour under uncertainty.
- public health investments: evaluating health promotion and prevention strategies across sectors.
- early cancer detection technologies.
Microeconomics in health and workforce
- nursing labour market - supply-side microeconomics focused on retention (decisions to enter, stay in or leave nursing).
- labour market behaviour - motivation, incentives, stress, and socio-economic determinants of workforce participation.
Pharmaceutical markets and innovation
- innovation in the pharmaceutical industry - market structure and M&As shaping innovation outcomes.
- competition in pharmaceutical markets - competition among branded drugs and impact of generic entry.
- prescribing behaviour - regulation, price and advertising in doctors’ prescribing decisions.
Methodological strengths within Southampton Health Economics
- evidence synthesis
- within trial economic evaluation
- health economic modelling
- Outcome Measurement including Discrete Choice Experiments (DCEs), Contingent valuation studies and studies examining measurement properties
- mixed-methods research
- experimental economics
- equity or distributional issues in economics of health and care economics
The group has experience applying these techniques to a wide range of health and care contexts.