Beginning with a look into simple models of supply and demand within health care, this key text moves on to techniques of cost-benefit analysis, and then compares differing health care systems around the world. Featuring an array of case studies based on systems from around the world, the book successfully bridges the divide between the insurance-based system employed in the United States, the publicly-funded options more common in Europe and Canada, and the mixed arrangements characteristic of most developing countries. This informative textbook, essential for students on the ever-growing number of health economics courses internationally, will also be useful in other areas, such as public health studies, medicine and health science.