Health economics is perhaps one of the last bastions in economics–as practised by conventional mainstream economists and taught in most universities around the world–of the application of cardinal utility in its attempts to measure the costs and benefits of treatments and medical protocols.

In this Masterclass, Professor McMaster will discuss the analytical framework informing his investigation of health economics’ antecedents which has revealed some potentially disquieting and questionable perspectives.

Drawing on Institutional Economics and Social Economics, Professor McMaster will also discuss an alternative approach to understanding the economics of health services.

About the Presenter

Robert McMaster has been Professor of Political Economy at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School since 2012. He joined the University of Glasgow in 2007 as Senior Lecturer following 16 years in the Department of Economics at the University of Aberdeen. Robert is also a visiting scholar at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and Marquette University, Milwaukee. His research has focused on Institutional Economics, Social Economics, the provision of health care, economic democracy, and the governance of public services.