Public Health & Economic Literacy

My former research assistant is now pursuing a master’s degree in public health at Harvard. She recently blogged about her economics course:

During econ class today, the professor explained in great detail the ways in which the federal government tinkers with agricultural output, like price floors and crop restriction and so forth. A lot of my classmates were genuinely surprised at the extent to which government messes with food production to placate the farm lobby, and that, in turn, surprised me. I thought most people — or most well‐​educated grad students and medical residents, who make up my class — knew all about concentrated benefits/​diffuse costs, and why we probably pay more for milk than we should. At one point, a student from India, astonished, said, “You mean the government actually sets aside these funds every year for this purpose?” Professor: “Of course not. We run deficits.”

Again, these students made it all the way to Harvard without any exposure to such things. Makes me wonder if any research has been done on the economic literacy of the public health profession. (E‐​mail me here if you’re aware of any.)


Let’s just hope that Adrienne’s econ class is a required course.