Working Paper No. 98, Selma Mushkin and the Emergence of the Field of Health Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that through her effective efforts, Selma Mushkin promoted and shaped the field of Health Economics. Perhaps most importantly, she redefined health as a form of human capital that needed to be considered as both essential and integral to economic growth. In her 1958 paper: “Toward a Definition of Health Economics,” she defined the scope of this emerging field through emphasizing how improved resource allocation could lead to efficiency gains. Appearing as her 1962 article in the Journal of Political Economy, with “Health as an Investment” Mushkin advanced the idea that--much like education--public spending on health could indeed help boost labor productivity. Her 1979 Biomedical Research: Costs and Benefits applied cost-benefit analysis in her effort to bear out how medical research might yield economic as well as societal returns. When taken together, Mushkin’s published works helped to lay a solid foundation for the emergence and advancement of the field of Health Economics, with her thinking continuing to influence health policy in contemporary times.