Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health

MHS in International Health (Global Health Economics)

Core Competencies

The major components of the master's in Global Health Economics include:

• Nine months of academic coursework building strengths in economics, econometrics, biostatistics, and epidemiology
• Written comprehensive exam
• Specialty elective courses in international health
• Completion of a scholarly paper that integrates material from multiple courses applying health economics, globalization, and health, econometrics, economic evaluation, or other research techniques to a topic of interest

Students who complete the MHS in Global Health Economics will be able to:

• Use economic theory to predict responses to changes in policies and incentives provided by changes in government policy, the health system, in health services provision, or in public health
• Use economic theory to balance the tradeoff between equity and efficiency for health policy recommendations
• Understand the appropriate role of cost-effectiveness analysis and economic reasoning in the policy making process for health care in the United States and around the world
• Understand how economics is combined effectively with other public health sciences including biostatistics, epidemiology, and disease modeling in the conduct of cost-effectiveness studies and other types of economic studies
• Provide input into the conduct of economic evaluations related to new health interventions, health systems, health services, or public health interventions
• Provide content input into the conduct of econometric analyses of changes related to policy and to perform data management and statistical tasks related to econometric analyses
• Provide input into the interpretation of results of all types of economic evaluations and analyses for policy purposes
• Analyze how globalization trends in trade, immigration, and labor markets may affect global burdens of disease and health behavior

Core Courses

Students must take all required courses each term. Beginning in the second term, students must also take one International Health elective each term. A total of 64 credits is required to complete the degree.

Health Economists are in high demand around the globe. Solving pressing problems in low- and middle-income countries as well as within the US requires solid skills. Graduates of the MHS in Global Health Economics Program will be well placed for a range of opportunities in the public and private sectors. Graduates can use the degree for entry into international agencies, academic research institutions, and private corporations.

Graduates of this program go on to conduct international work in health economics, both in low- and middle-income countries and developed nations.

Job opportunities include:

• International Agencies: World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, United Nations Children Fund, InterAmerican Development Bank, Pan American Health Organization, USAID, and the Food and Agricultural Organization
• Government: Domestic and international government-related organizations, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), The Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Consulting, Health Care, and Industry: Consulting firms, contract research organizations, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, health insurers, and managed care organizations such as Healthcare Value Analytics and McKinsey & Company
• Medical and Doctoral Degree Programs: Graduates go on to pursue MDs and PhDs at Johns Hopkins University and other esteemed academic institutions.
• Academic and Research Institutions: University of York’s Centre for Health Economics, the University of Washington in Seattle, University of Michigan School of Medicine, University of Ohio, Johns Hopkins University

Many of the research centers based in the Department of International Health offer opportunities for both students and graduates of the MHS in Global Health Economics degree program, including

• International Vaccine Access Center
• International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health
• Global Obesity Prevention Center
• Center for Humanitarian Health

Learning Outcomes

1. Use statistics and econometric methods (including statistical inferences, regression methods, and applied econometric methods) to solve public health problems.
2. Understand the burden of disease; measure and calculate health outcomes; differentiate between methods of economic evaluation; and practice use of economic evaluation
3. Apply economic theory and mathematical microeconomic modeling within the field of health economics
4. Evaluate and apply methods in health economics and economic evaluation in public health research
5. Use economic theory and economic modeling to interpret, analyze, and evaluate health policy in the context of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC)
6. Describe the health status and demographic profile of LMIC populations including incidence and prevalence of disease morbidity and mortality, and life expectancy in LMIC's.
7. Interpret and understand the link of economic development and health, macroeconomics and health and the connection between poverty, growth and health investment.