Overview of the book Section 1: Key economic concepts Introduction to welfare economics Section 2: Demand, production and costs Aspects of economic evaluation Derivation of demand Models of demand, public goods and aggregated demand The production process: concepts and assumptions Costs and the cost function Section 3: Markets, market failure and regulation Market analysis Behaviour of health care providers What is the evidence of competition on consumer and provider sides? Alternative models of provider competition The economic rationale for government involvement in the health sector Economic theories of regulation Section 4: Contracts and agency Institutional economics and appropriate contracts Legal and economic analysis of contracts Agency and organizational decision making Agency in the health sector Section 5: Equity in health care Equity in health care - general concepts Equity and health care Glossary Index.