PUBPOL 4280 - The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors

(crosslisted) ECON 3710
(SBA-HE) (CU-UGR)

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: PUBPOL 2000 or ECON 3030 and PUBPOL 3100, ECON 3120 or ECON 3140. Offered in Washington, D.C. Co-meets with PUBPOL 5290.

J. Cawley.

Risky health behaviors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, risky sex, drug use, poor diet and physical inactivity (leading to obesity), and self-harm are responsible for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and impose billions of dollars in medical care costs each year in the United States. This course teaches the economic approach to studying risky health behaviors. The research literature on the economic causes and correlates of risky health behaviors will be studied in detail. Numerous policies to modify risky health behaviors, such as the minimum legal drinking age and recreational marijuana use laws, will be debated in class. A policy wargame is conducted, with students creating advertisements, giving oral presentations, and lobbying policymakers to advocate a specific policy position.

Outcome 1: Discuss the economic approach to studying a wide variety of risky health behaviors.

Outcome 2: Develop oral and written communication skills.