Economics (ECON) 321

Overview

The primary purpose of ECON 321 is to introduce you to the discipline of health care economics. Like other economics courses, Health Care Economics is primarily concerned with how scarce resources are allocated. Much of the material presented in this course is similar to that found in an introductory economics course, but the emphasis here is on how concepts such as supply and demand, cost, and utility are applied to the health care sector. This course looks at how the economic behaviours of health care consumers and suppliers, particularly in Canada, affect the manner in which resources are allocated.

Course Objectives

Each unit identifies specific learning objectives that you must achieve in order to successfully complete the course. The course, as a whole, has been designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills that you will need to achieve the following course goals:

• describe and discuss the concepts of health status and health care utilization, and the relation between the two.
• outline the organization of the health care system in Canada, in terms of specific economic dimensions.
• use economic analysis to predict patterns of health care utilization.

Outline

ECON 321 comprises the following nine units:

• Unit 1: Introduction to Health Care Economics
• Unit 2: Outputs and Outcomes—The Products of the Health Care System
• Unit 3: Economic Dimensions of the Canadian Health Care System
• Unit 4: The Demand for Health Care
• Unit 5: Cost
• Unit 6: Supply of Health Care Services
• Unit 7: Demand and Supply
• Unit 8: Specific Health Care Market Models
• Unit 9: The Labour Market

Evaluation

To receive credit for ECON 321, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least a “D” (50 percent). You must achieve a minimum grade of 50 per cent on each assignment and the examination. In order to pass the course all assignments and the examination must be completed. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Other materials

Most of the course materials for ECON 321 are available online through the myAU portal. The textbook will be sent to you before your course start date.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the ECON 321 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least C- (60 per cent) on the examination.

Paper Exam

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form