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Title: Pills, Poverty & Pandemics
Course Section Number: PPE-358-02
Department: Philosophy, Politics, Economic
Description: This course applies economic reasoning to global health, focusing on low- and middle-income countries and on health challenges that cross national borders. Students will examine the global burden of disease, the large and persistent inequalities in health across countries, and the two-way relationship between health and economic development. Building on principles of microeconomics, the course introduces accessible models of health valuation, cost-effectiveness, externalities, global public goods, and incentives, and applies them to major infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, as well as to pandemics and emerging infectious diseases. Students will explore how households make decisions about prevention and treatment, and how policymakers set priorities with limited budgets. The course also covers access to medicines, health workers and the quality of care, health system financing, and the role of foreign aid in improving health worldwide. Through problem solving, case studies, and discussion of real-world evidence, students will learn to evaluate global health policies and their economic trade-offs. Register for this under the ECO number if you want it to count towards ECO. Register for this under the GHL number if you want it to count towards GHL. Register for this under the PPE number if you want it to count towards PPE.
Credits: 1.00
Start Date: January 18, 2027
End Date: May 8, 2027
Meeting Information:
01/18/2027-05/07/2027 Lecture Monday, Wednesday, Friday 02:10PM - 03:00PM, Room to be Announced
Faculty: Bhattacharjee, Sharbani
Requisite Courses: ECO-101 with a minimum grade of C- and one 200 level ECO course with a minimum grade of D, OR with the consent of the instructor

Course Status & Cross-Listings

Cross-list Group Capacity: 15
Cross-list Group Student Count: 0
Calculated Course Status: OPEN
Section Name/Title Status Dept. Capacity Enrolled/
Available/
Waitlist
PPE-358-02 (cross-listing)
Pills, Poverty & Pandemics
OPEN Philosophy, Politics, Economic 15 0 / 15 / 0
ECO-258-01 (primary)
Pills, Poverty & Pandemics
OPEN Economics 15 0 / 15 / 0
GHL-219-01 (cross-listing)
Pills, Poverty & Pandemics
OPEN Global Health 15 0 / 15 / 0
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