Construct Validity
The degree to which an instrument actually captures the underlying theoretical concept it is meant to measure, judged against theoretical expectations.
Encyclopaedia
Explore comprehensive, evidence-informed explanations of key health economics concepts, including their development, application and relationships to other concepts. Published entries are validated through human expert review.
Consumer Choice
The process by which individuals select among available goods and services to maximise satisfaction given their preferences and budget constraints.
Consumer Surplus
The difference between the maximum a consumer would pay for a good and what they actually pay, the net benefit of the transaction.
Contact Rate
A parameter in an infectious disease model representing how often individuals come into contact with one another in a way that could transmit infection.
Contingent Valuation
A stated preference method that elicits willingness to pay for a good or outcome by describing a hypothetical scenario and asking for a monetary value.
Contingent Valuation Method
The formal methodology underlying contingent valuation surveys, covering scenario design, elicitation format, and survey administration procedures.
Continuous Model
A mathematical model in which time or another key variable flows continuously rather than advancing in discrete steps.
Contract Theory
A branch of economic theory analysing how agreements can be structured to align incentives when information is imperfect or unequally distributed.
Control Variates
A variance reduction technique exploiting a related quantity with known expected value to reduce the variance of the estimate actually wanted.
Convergence
The property of an iterative process, such as a Markov chain Monte Carlo run, settling into a stable pattern reflecting the target distribution.
Convergent Validity
A form of construct validity shown when an instrument's scores correlate strongly with scores from other established instruments measuring a related concept.
Conversion Factor
A monetary amount translating a service's relative value units into an actual payment, the key multiplier connecting physician work to reimbursement.
Cook's Distance
A regression diagnostic identifying observations with disproportionately large influence on estimated coefficients, based on how much fitted values would change if removed.
Copas Model
A statistical model adjusting a meta-analysis result for potential publication bias by modelling how publication likelihood depends on results.
Correlation
A statistical measure of how closely two variables move together, ranging from negative one to positive one.
Correlation Coefficient
A measure quantifying the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables, ranging from negative one to positive one.
Correlation Matrix
A table showing the pairwise statistical correlation between each pair of variables, used to represent how uncertain model parameters move together.
Cost
The economic value of resources consumed or displaced when a healthcare service, programme or intervention is provided.
Cost Allocation
The process of assigning shared or indirect costs to specific departments, services, or patients using a defined allocation basis.
Cost Disease
A phenomenon in which the cost of services in labour-intensive, low-productivity-growth sectors, such as healthcare, rises persistently relative to more automated sectors.