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This addition to the existing range of text books on health economics seeks to be an introduction to the application of economics to health issues for both economics students and more general readers. Based on a lecture course given by the authors over a number of years it begins with the more approachable subjects and builds up to the more complex literature (e.g. regarding demand and supply issues).

The justification for considering health economics separately from the mainstream of economics lies in the argument that "the action of choice over consumption patterns in the health sector is modified sufficiently" by specific aspects of the sector. It is the difference between the health and other sectors of the economy that this book seeks to outline and to discuss. In doing so it draws on a wide cross-section of economic theory: cost-benefit literature, welfare economics and public finance, consumer theory and …