Economics of the Health Workforce short course - by invite only

With significant current and forecast shortages of health and aged care workers in Australia, this one-day short course will equip participants with an understanding of how economics can inform policy on healthcare labour markets. It will show how economics can enhance understanding of key factors central to the recruitment and retention of health workers. 

It will reveal the role and importance of local labour markets and explain how economic concepts are central to understanding the geographical distribution of the health workforce. The course will examine the role of pay and earnings and other job characteristics in achieving balance in healthcare labour markets and will explore how healthcare labour markets can be better designed to achieve improved health outcomes for the Australian population. 

The primary focus of the course will be on health workforce labour supply, though demand-side issues will also be touched upon.

Who is this course aimed at?

Public servants designing health care policy, health care and human resource managers in hospitals, workforce planners, primary care and aged care organisations, medical and nursing colleges and trade unions, health workforce regulators, and health policy analysts. No previous knowledge of economics is required. The course will provide a non-technical introduction to key concepts and examples of their application.

Course instructors

Professor Anthony Scott is Director of the Centre for Health Economics at Monash Business School. Tony has built a distinguished career focused on influencing health policy through high- quality research. His research interests include the behaviour of physicians, health workforce dynamics, financial incentives, and the economics of primary care and hospitals. He is particularly known for leading the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) panel survey, which tracks the careers and work-life balance of over 10,000 physicians. Professor Scott is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and has held prestigious roles such as the immediate Past President of the Australian Health Economics Society and a Board Director of the International Health Economics Association. His expertise has been sought by organizations like the World Bank, the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, and various Commonwealth and State Departments of Health.

Professor Robert Elliott is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen, where he has made significant contributions to the field of labour and health economics. He was Director of the Health Economics Research Unit (HERU) between 2001 and 2012. Bob was educated at Oxford and Leeds. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Bob has also served as a Commissioner on the Low Pay Commission from 2007 to 2015, contributing to the setting of the UK minimum wage. His research interests span health care reform, labour economics, and the economic impact of health policies. He has been a consultant and adviser to various organizations, including the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). His book the ‘Economics of the UK Health and Social Care Labour Market’ was published by Oxford University Press in 2024.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the day, participants will be:

• Conversant with key economic concepts relevant to the health and aged care workforce.
• Acquainted with recent economic evidence regarding problems in the health and aged care
  workforce.
• Able to use economic thinking to help improve the regulation of health care labour markets.
• Able to analyse and predict the intended and unintended effects of policy intervention in
  health care labour markets.

Date

Thursday, 13 February, 9.45am to 4.30pm

Venue

Monash College
750 Collins Street, Room 903, Level 9, Docklands, VIC, 3008