Explore how economists understand health outcomes and behaviours, from maternal mortality to ageing, and how these are shaped by income, education, and public systems. Reflect on what is gained and what is missed when health is treated as an economic choice.
The Economics of People: Health, Gender, and Employment
This is a Level 1 course from the Economics major, part of the Open Bachelor’s programme. It is worth 6 ECTS and takes place in Term 2 in Lisbon.
Course Summary
What can economics reveal about the lives we lead, the opportunities we have, and the challenges we face? This course explores the economics of people, uncovering how health, gender, and employment shape—and are shaped by—economic forces in diverse contexts around the world. You’ll investigate why health outcomes differ across populations, how public health crises and ageing demographics challenge policymakers, and what economics can teach us about fertility and discrimination. From feminist perspectives on labour markets to the persistence of inequality in wages and opportunities, you’ll examine how economic systems impact human lives in complex and varied ways. This course invites you to see economics not as abstract theory, but as a vital tool for understanding lived experiences and driving meaningful change in today’s interconnected world.
Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)
| Description | |
|---|---|
| CLO 1 | Demonstrate a command of the basic economic models and theories in the context of health, gender, and employment. |
| CLO 2 | Apply core economic concepts to interpret how global challenges in health, gender, and labour markets are shaped by economic forces and persist across different societies. |
| CLO 3 | Collaborate effectively in a small group to explore and present an economic issue in health, gender, or labour markets, drawing on economic theory and empirical evidence from academic literature. |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Weighting of Course Grade | Group Assessment? | Invigilated? | CLOs Mapped | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment 1 | Evaluative – Quiz | 20% | No | Yes | CLO 1 |
| Assessment 2 | Digital – Digital Artefact | 40% | Yes | No | CLOs 1, 2, 3 |
| Assessment 3 | Practical – Case Study | 40% | No | Yes | CLOs 1, 2, 3 |
- Assessment 1 Description: A multiple choice quiz on key concepts, administered approximately half way through the course. The quiz is designed to reinforce foundational knowledge and prepare students for deeper analysis in later assessments.
- Assessment 2 Description: In small groups, students will investigate an economic issue of their choice related to gender, health, or labour markets. apply economic concepts and models introduced in class to analyse its causes and/or consequences. The project requires students to provide contextual information, explain their analytical approach, and reflect critically on the strengths and limitations of the models used. The assignment runs throughout the course, with milestones to support project planning and group coordination. The final deliverable is a conference poster accompanied by a 10–15 minute in-class presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session with peers (simulating a conference presentation, which will be spread over a few classes). The presentation should aim to communicate economic reasoning clearly and accessibly to a general audience. Feedback is provided by the Fellow at the end.
- Assessment 3 Description: Conducted under exam conditions at the end of the course, this briefing memo challenges students to apply economic tools to an unseen hypothetical or real-world scenario (e.g. a policy proposal or a news graph). Students must identify relevant concepts, interpret the scenario using appropriate models, and communicate their reasoning clearly and concisely. This includes analysing potential trade-offs, outcomes, or stakeholder impacts. The task focuses on individual synthesis and clarity of thought, without the use of digital tools. Graphs and simple calculations may be used to support the analysis; these are excluded from the page limit.
Indicative List
of Topics
Investigate how gender shapes labour supply, fertility, and household decision-making. Use economic models to analyse inequality in work and care, then contrast these with insights from feminist theory and social research.
Study how economists explain employment, wages, and job search. Examine real-world evidence on discrimination and segmentation in labour markets, and assess how well standard models account for lived experience and structural inequality.
Engage with perspectives from public health, sociology, and feminist thought to critically assess economic reasoning. Identify where disciplines converge or conflict, and what these tensions reveal about the politics of knowledge.
Use tools from microeconomics, including utility, incentives, and behavioural insights, to model choices and policy outcomes. Through case studies and debates, develop the capacity to think clearly, critically, and ethically about complex social issues.
