Category: Public health policy

The economist and the doctor: Jean Tirole’s parallel and contrast

by Patrice, posted in Education, Equity, Health, Non-series, Public health policy

Both of us, Patrice and Gatien, have started to read the recent book (May 2016) of Jean Tirole, a French economist, Nobel Prize in Economics in 2014, entitled Economics of the Common Good (published in French: "Économie du bien commun"). In the first pages, we come across a parallel between economics and medicine, that calls … Continue reading The economist and the doctor: Jean Tirole’s parallel and contrast

Rational Addiction to Heroin and Other Drugs

by Gatien, posted in Health, Public health policy

In Summary A popular approach that economists take to study the use of illegal drugs is the concept of rational addiction. The idea is that individuals willingly choose to consume heroin and other drugs, as they would do with food, goods or services. While this idea is controversial, it allows both researchers and policymakers to … Continue reading Rational Addiction to Heroin and Other Drugs