World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Health Economics
H-index 24

Health Economics

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 93 85 126 20
Economics and Finance 108 67 101 16

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 205
Documents by Best Scientists*: 239
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 17
SCIMAGO H-index: 133
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.351
Impact Factor: 2.4

Overview

Top Research Topics at Health Economics?

Health Economics explores disciplines such as Actuarial science, Health care, Public economics, Econometrics and Demography. The studies on Actuarial science discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Cost–benefit analysis, Payment, Willingness to pay, Incentive and Valuation (finance). Health Economics is focused mainly on Cost–benefit analysis, particularly Quality-adjusted life year.

The Willingness to pay research dealing mostly with Contingent valuation is the focus of Health Economics. Nursing, Demographic economics and Economic evaluation are some topics wherein Health care research discussed in Health Economics have an impact. The study on Public economics presented in it intersects with the topics under Health economics.

The study on Econometrics presented in it intersects with subjects under the field of Statistics. Health Economics explores research in Demography and the adjacent study of Gerontology.

  • Actuarial science (23.11%)
  • Health care (22.19%)
  • Public economics (13.81%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • The rand 36-item health survey 1.0 (1909 citations)
  • Representing uncertainty: the role of cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. (844 citations)
  • Costs, effects and C/E-ratios alongside a clinical trial (822 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Health Economics:

The published articles explore disciplines such as Health care, Actuarial science, Econometrics, Public economics and Economic evaluation. The most cited publications address concerns in Health care which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Equity (economics), Demographic economics and MEDLINE. The published papers deal with Actuarial science in conjunction with Cost–benefit analysis and similar fields in Cost-effectiveness analysis.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • Internal medicine
  • Statistics

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Health Economics focuses on Health care, Demographic economics, Environmental health, Demography and Actuarial science. Health care research presented is mostly focused on the subject of Health insurance. The in-depth study on Demographic economics also explores topics in the intersecting field of Instrumental variable.

Discussions in Health Economics are anchored in the subject of Environmental health and the similar topic of Public health.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Estimating (quality-adjusted) life-year losses associated with deaths: With application to COVID-19. (19 citations)
  • Epidemics and trust: The case of the Spanish Flu (13 citations)
  • The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on socioeconomic inequality in psychological distress in the UK. (6 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Health Economics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Andrew M. Jones (32 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Werner B. F. Brouwer (31 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • Adam Wagstaff (28 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John Brazier (25 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Andrew Briggs (25 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Health Economics (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of York (255 papers) published 11 papers at the last edition, 7 more than at the previous edition,
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (132 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of London (103 papers) published 5 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Sheffield (74 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • London School of Economics and Political Science (68 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 2.58% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 21.16% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 7.41% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 15.87% of all publications and 55.56% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Paths in Health Economics

While this article has extensively covered research trends, most cited papers, and major topics in health economics, it could provide more comprehensive information by also discussing career pathways associated with the field. For instance, many students and professionals with a health economics background may be interested in becoming a health economist, health policy analyst, health services manager, or even a marriage and family therapist.

Health economists study the function of healthcare systems and health-affecting behaviors such as smoking. They often work in public sectors, academic settings, and healthcare consulting firms. Health policy analysts research the impact of policies and legislation on public health and healthcare services. Those aiming for managerial roles might explore health services management, where they can oversee the business side of healthcare organizations.

A career path that might not come immediately to mind is becoming a marriage and family therapist. These therapists often analyze the financial and economic aspects of family dynamics, both of which can drastically affect stress levels and overall mental health in a family context. The intersection of finance and therapy offers a fascinating and rewarding direction for those interested in both economics and psychology. You can learn more about this career choice in our article on how to become a marriage and family therapist in Delaware.

Regardless of the precise career pathway, the study of health economics can open doors to a wide range of job opportunities that contribute significantly to the public health sector. Whether you are more interested in the macro or micro aspects of healthcare, the industry has numerous openings for you to consider.

Top Publications

  • Epidemics and trust: The case of the Spanish Flu

    Arnstein Aassve;Guido Alfani;Francesco Gandolfi;Marco Le Moglie

    (2021)
    201 Citations
  • Impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in England and Scotland

    Manuel Serrano-Alarcón;Alexander Kentikelenis;Martin Mckee;David Stuckler

    (2021)
    92 Citations
  • Child health as human capital

    Janet Currie

    (2020)
    69 Citations
  • Does commuting mode choice impact health

    Nikita Jacob;Luke Munford;Nigel Rice;Jennifer Roberts

    (2021)
    54 Citations
  • The medical care costs of obesity and severe obesity in youth: An instrumental variables approach.

    Adam I. Biener;John Cawley;Chad Meyerhoefer

    (2020)
    51 Citations
  • Fear of COVID‐19 contagion and consumption: Evidence from a survey of Italian households

    (2021)
    46 Citations
  • Later retirement, job strain, and health: Evidence from the new State Pension age in the United Kingdom.

    Ludovico Carrino;Ludovico Carrino;Karen Glaser;Mauricio Avendano;Mauricio Avendano

    (2020)
    46 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal