Seminar Series

2006 - 2007

The Division of Health Policy and Management sponsors two seminar series:

• Health Services Research Seminars (HSR) - Nationally and internationally known leaders in health services research speak on current topics. These seminars are free and open to the public.
• Work in Progress Seminars (WIP) - (Formerly, In the Spotlight Series, ISL)
  Work in Progress Seminars feature Division faculty, visiting colleagues, other University faculty, students and research staff. These seminars provide an opportunity to discuss current work and share ideas. All are on Wednesdays, 12:15-1:15 PM, in Room 3-100 Mayo (Mayo Auditorium).

2006-2007 Schedule

Archives

2005-2006 | 2004-2005 | 2003-2004 | 2002-2003 | 2001-2002 | 2000-2001 | 1999-2000 | 1998-1999

Abstracts for Health Services Research Series

Amitabh Chandra, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Public Policy John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University

“The Economics of Treatment Disparities in Healthcare”

Abstract

A large literature in medicine documents substantial racial and gender disparities in healthcare, and attributes their presence to provider discrimination. We use simple economic insights to characterize two competing views of physician behavior — under prejudicial behavior,  physician use a higher benefit hurdle before providing care to members of minority groups; minority members should therefore have higher returns from being treated. Under statistical-discrimination, race and gender are markers for the benefit from treatment; average returns are lower for minority members. The two models generate different testable implications that we examine using data on heart-attack treatments from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project (CCP). We reject the model of prejudicial behavior by providers

Amitabh Chandra is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy. He is a Faculty Research Fellow at the IZA Institute in Bonn, Germany, and at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His current research focuses on the effect of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on labor markets, the role of medical malpractice litigation on the delivery of health care, and the economics of neonatal health and cardiovascular care. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Health Affairs. He is
an editor of the journal Economics Letters. He has been a faculty member at Dartmouth and MIT, and has been a consultant to the National Academy of Science, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the RAND Corporation. He is the recipient of an Outstanding Teacher Award and is the first-prize recipient of the Upjohn Institute's International Dissertation Research Award.
 

Timothy J. Hoff, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Dept. of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior School of Public Health University of Albany, SUNY

“Applying Complexity Theory to Public Health Systems: The Case of Newborn Screening in the United States”

Abstract

This seminar will argue for viewing public health organizations and activities within the framework of complexity theory. Drawing on a recently completed national study of state newborn screening programs, Dr. Hoff will present a template for viewing these programs as components of larger complex adaptive systems. By adopting such a view, our understanding of how to manage and develop policy in the public health arena shifts away from traditional, bureaucratic models of organizing towards models that are more emergent, diversified, and
self-directed. The implications for public health practice will be discussed, particularly in the context of the expansion in newborn testing now underway across the United States.
 

Richard G. Frank
Professor of Health Economics, Department of Health Care Policy,
Harvard Medical School

“Mending Medicare Part D: Improving Consumer Choices and Restructuring Purchasing”

Richard G. Frank is the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics at the Harvard Medical School. He is also a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research. His primary areas of research interest are in the economics of health and mental health. Frank has ongoing interests in the organization and financing of care for people with mental disorders. He also studies economic policy issues related to the pharmaceutical industry. He received his PhD in economics from Boston University

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Abstracts for Work in Progress Series

John Nyman
Professor, Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota

“Something for Nothing: A Model of Gambling Behavior”

Abstract

Gambling is an ancient economic activity, but despite its universality and importance, no single explanation for the demand for gambles has gained ascendance among economists. This paper suggests that the demand for gambles is based on the ability to obtain “something for nothing.” That is, the gain from gambling is not merely additional income, but additional income for which the gambler does not need to work. Thus, to fully understand gambling behavior, it must be placed in a labor supply context. The theory is tested empirically using the Survey of Gambling in the U.S. Support for the theory is found.

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