Comparative Politics of Health Policy in Globalizing World
This course takes students into a multidisciplinary approach that integrates national and global politics in the explanation of how health policies are generated and implemented, and how those politics shape population health. Emphasis is put in an understanding of specific health problems, political forces and political economy, both national and international that shape population health. In the first section the course begins with the robust descriptive empirical typology of welfare state types that has been associated with different health outcomes in wealthy countries. The next section devotes several weeks to theories of political and policy change including power resources, institutionalism, class, gender and race movements in health care reform, micro-approaches to health policy development, and policy diffusion models. The third section on national health systems compares the health systems of Liberal, Social democratic and Christian democratic welfare state types in EU countries. The course then presents the health care systems of East Asia and Latin America. The last section brings an international perspective into the politics of health policy by analyzing the impact of the neo-liberal globalization on health care systems. The course ends by reviewing current developments in Canada and around the world to provide alternatives and future directions.
Program Requirements Course Type: Core Course Clinical Field
Delivery Format
In-person