Translated from the German and adapted with examples for the U.S. and other English-speaking audiences, Health Economics is the most complete text available on the economics of health and health care delivery. Appropriate for both advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of economics, this text develops the theory necessary to examine issues analytically, presenting empirical evidence on each issue and summarizing results for easy comprehension. Issues discussed include the "cost explosion" in health care, the role of physicians and the power of medical associations, and the control of technological change in medicine. Without neglecting ethical concerns, modern microeconomic theory is applied to formulate theoretical implications and predictions, and key arguments are summarized to facilitate follow-up and review. The text explains the institutional differences of health care sectors in many industrialized countries, reflecting these differences by using microeconomic modelling. Rather than simplifying the issues facing today's health care systems, Health Economics seeks to model existing complexities as they are, showing students how economics can be adapted to reflect the views of the average person. Due to the rapidly expanding level of sophistication in health economics, the text also provides key analytic tools required to understand research that is currently in progress.