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Health Policy in Comparative Perspective

Module description

The ethical, institutional, political, and social aspects of health policy allow for important and surprisingly large differences among nations, even nations that are quite similar in other policy domains. This module uses health policy as a study in comparative politics. By examining health care systems and institutions across nations, and seeking to identify the reasons these systems and institutions differ, we will gain a fuller understanding of the causes and consequences of different policy choices in democracies.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is intended to teach you to think about public policies in a more sophisticated way, by attending to the political, institutional, financial, social, and ethical constraints and pressures that affect public policymaking.  It will also give you specific information about health policies in multiple countries and in-depth understanding of one health care condition or practice in multiple countries. And you will improve your writing, research, critical thinking, and persuasion skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Critically describe the rationale for a range of public health care policies across multiple nations and governments;
• 2. Explain, using appropriate examples, how political, social, economic, and historical factors shape public policies regarding health care;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Critically assess the role of interest groups, public opinion, and the media in public policymaking;
• 4. Demonstrate critical thinking to analyse public policies;
• 5. Critically evaluate political science research according to its assumptions, methods, and conclusions;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Demonstrate effective written communication skills using coherent, persuasive arguments and a high level of detail;
• 7. Demonstrate the ability to work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics: studying public policy, studying health care, origins of modern health care systems, health policy in the UK, problems in modern health systems, reforms to modern health systems, health policy in non-OECD countries, comparative public policy in other domains.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Campbell, John Creighton, and Naoki Ikegami. “Long-term Care Insurance comes to Japan.” Health Affairs 19, no. 3 (2000): 26-39.

Giaimo, Susan, and Philip Manow. “Adapting the Welfare State – The Case of Health Care Reform in Britain, Germany and the United States.” Comparative Political Studies 32, no. 8 (1999)

Gurowitz, Amy. “Mobilizing International Norms: Domestic Actors, Immigrants, and the Japanese State,” World Politics 51: 3 (1999): 413-445

Hacker, Jacob. “The Historical Logic of National Health Insurance: Structure and Sequence in the Development of British, Canadian, and U.S. Medical Policy,” Studies in American Political Development 12 (1998): 57-130

Jacobs, Lawrence, Theodore Marmor and Jonathan Oberlander. “The Oregon Plan and the Political Paradox of Rationing.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 24, no. 1 (1999): 161-180.

Klein, Rudolf. “Ideology, Class and the National Health Service.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 4(3) (1979): 464-490

Prottas, Jeffrey. “Rationing Human Organs for Transplant.” In Transparency in Public Policy: Great Britain and the United States (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000)

Reid, T.R. The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (Penguin Press, 2009)

Wildavsky, Aaron. “Doing Better and Feeling Worse: The Political Pathology of Health Policy.” Daedalus 96 (1967): 105-23.

Key words search

Health politics, health policy, public policy, comparative politics