Health presents a ubiquitous governance challenge. Governments in both developed and developing economies are struggling with health policy problems that are increasingly transboundary in nature. Drawing on cutting edge research in policy studies, political economy and governance, the course investigates the tensions inherent in health policy-making in a globalising world.  The course is organised thematically around the transnational processes of globalisation that interconnect health and health policy in developed and developing countries; such as international economic regulations, infectious and non-infectious diseases, medical tourism, migration of health care resources, globalisation of medical research. Sessions will tack between a macro-level focus on political economy links between health policy processes and a finer grained-focus on the particular challenges which exist within health policy processes.

By the end of this course students should:

(a)  understand the implications of globalisation for contemporary debates about health care system reform;

(b)  be able to analyse the policy processes of health care reform in different national contexts using insights from politics, economics and management;

 (c) demonstrate the ability to engage in both reasoning about organisational design and values in health care system reform.

(i) Critical review of student’s choice of one of the Brick Readings for weeks one to five. 500 words (10%)

(ii) Paper on reform strategies for health care systems. 1500 words (30%)

(iii) Case study of health care reform in student’s home country. 3000 words (60%)

Total of 30 contact hours of seminars, with an additional total of 60 hours reading expected in preparation for seminars.

Three years work experience in a public sector environment or POGO8082 Political Institutions & the Policy Process, or the Graduate Diploma in Public Administration.

None

Three years work experience in a public sector environment or equivalent, or POGO8082 Political Institutions and Policy Processes, or the Graduate Diploma in Public Administration.

Deacon, B. (2007) Global Social Policy and Governance, London: Sage

Kawachi, I. and Wamala, S. (eds) (2006) Globalization and Health, Oxford: OUP

Oberlander, J. (2003) The Political Life of Medicare, Chicago: University of Chicago Press