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Monday, 30 August 2010

UWA Business School
How willing would you be to sacrifice your income for those more needy than you? Would you be more willing to assist the working poor, the unemployed, old-age pensioners, families with children, or those with chronic ill health? Are your values reflective of wider society, and how do they translate into health policy?

Professor Peter Zweifel from the University of Zurich will present a free public lecture on the social sustainability of welfare programs. Speaking at The University of Western Australia Business School on 7 September, Professor Zweifel will discuss his recent studies conducted in Switzerland.

The studies used discrete-choice experiments (DCE) to present respondents with a series of scenarios in which they were asked to choose between the status quo and an alternative situation with different attributes and outcomes. These different outcomes included having a different level of remaining income after paying for a certain service or product.

Combining the results with economic, political and behavioural theory, Professor Zweifel then compared the levels of income redistribution in Switzerland to those in the European Union and United States. Switzerland proved to be a unique case study due to several factors: the high cost of health care due to higher drug prices and greater respect for consumer preferences; decentralised political power, which gives a great deal of responsibility for health to the cantons; and a new law that makes social health insurance compulsory for all citizens.

Join us to hear the results of the studies and gain an insight into health economics, an area that will become increasingly important as Australia learns to manage its ageing population.

Peter Zweifel is a leading expert in industrial organisation with a special interest in health economics and insurance economics. After studying at the University of Zurich, he held positions at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Armed Forces in Munich. He became an Assistant Professor of International Economics at the University of Zurich in 1983, and Professor of Economics in 1990.

Date : Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Time : 6:00-7:00pm
Venue : Wesfarmers Lecture Theatre, UWA Business School
Cost : Free
RSVP : Visit www.business.uwa.edu.au/school/eventregistration
Further information : [email protected]

Media Reference
Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
E: [email protected]

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