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2025-2026 Academic Year

Spring 2026

ECON 496 Political Economy of Health
Permission of Instructor Required. In a world of unprecedented wealth, the average life-expectancy in some parts of the world is as low as 53 years. About a thousand children die each day because they lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation and hygiene. Globally, 100 million women are not alive today due to unequal access to nutrition, care and economic resources. In the United States, infant mortality rates are significantly higher among African-Americans. What are the political and economic conditions which lead to these differences in well-being across and within nations? In this course, students will examine the relationships between health and political and economic conditions world populations face today. The emphasis throughout the course will be on how socioeconomic inequalities based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, nationality and other characteristics affect health and well-being outcomes.