Health Economics is the most complete text available on the economics of health behavior and health care delivery. Appropriate both for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students of economics, this text provides key analytical tools required for understanding current research, presenting empirical evidence on each issue and summarizing results for easy comprehension. Issues discussed include the "cost explosion" in health care, the power of medical associations, the search for remuneration systems with favorable incentives, and 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, review, and documentation. Rather than simplifying the issues facing today's healthcare systems, the book models existing complexities as they are, adapting economics to reflect the views of the average person.