Dictionary
The Dictionary provides concise definitions of health economics terms, arranged alphabetically for quick reference. Use it to understand unfamiliar terminology or confirm the meaning of a specific term.
A
- Adverse Selection Model
- A formal economic model showing how information asymmetry between insurers and policyholders can lead to partial insurance coverage or market failure.
G
- Government Intervention
- Action taken by government to influence market outcomes, typically justified by market failure such as externalities, information asymmetry, or public goods.
I
- Information Asymmetry
- A condition in which one party to a transaction holds more or better information than the other, potentially causing inefficient market outcomes.
- Information Asymmetry in Healthcare
- The specific and pervasive information gap between physicians and patients over diagnosis and treatment, distinguishing healthcare from most other markets.
M
- Market Failure
- A situation in which a free market fails to allocate goods or services efficiently, typically due to externalities, public goods, market power, or information asymmetry.
- Market Imperfection
- A departure from perfect competition, such as market power, information asymmetry, or externalities, that prevents a market from reaching an efficient outcome alone.
R
- Regulation
- Government-imposed rules governing the conduct of private actors, intended to correct market failures such as information asymmetry, externalities, or market power.
S
- Signaling TheorySignalling Theory
- A body of theory analysing how individuals with private information take costly actions to credibly reveal it in markets with information asymmetry.
T
- Trust in Healthcare
- The confidence patients place in providers and institutions to act competently and in the patient's best interest despite information asymmetry.