Project

Economic evaluations of government policies generally assume that the value of a policy that is financed from a collective budget is grounded in the amount of money individuals are willing to contribute from their private income. However, this fails to consider that private choices may not fully reflect citizens’ preferences towards public policies, for example because ethical considerations that cannot be easily translated into private income run the risk of being degraded or excluded. This divergence between people’s preferences in a private choice setting and a public choice setting has also been recognized by health economists.

Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) is a novel method for economic evaluation, which was specifically designed to address the above-mentioned critiques. In a PVE, citizens are confronted with a constrained public budget and a number of possible policy options, described by their impacts on a number of objectives relevant in that policy area, and asked to choose the portfolio of policies that best matches their preferences. Just recently, PVE was used to explore public preferences of 30,000 citizens for gradual withdrawal of the COVID-19 lockdown measures (see www.tudelft.nl/covidexit).

The aim of this PhD project is to explore the added value of PVE to the evaluation of policies in the health care sector. We anticipate that the candidate will conduct a number of studies that present citizens with health policies that involve a variety of impacts, including efficiency and equity considerations. Initial ideas for potential studies, to be discussed and decided with the PhD candidate, include: 1) Preferences of the public for the segments of the population that should receive COVID-19 vaccination first when it becomes available; 2) Preferences of the public for the types and level of long-term-care services for older people, and how this should be organized and financed (e.g., mixes of self-care, informal care and formal care, in person or eHealth); 3) Preferences of the public for policies aimed at improving a healthy lifestyle, including the scope of policies, individual versus collective responsibility, and long-term societal costs and benefits. In addition, a number of yet unexplored methodological issues concerning PVE will be addressed. Possibilities include how stakeholders (e.g., public, patients, caregivers, policy makers) can be involved in the design of the experiment, in order to increase the relevance of the study and the support for its findings, and what would be the optimal timing of a PVE in the policy process to maximize its impact, legitimacy and public support. Also, comparison of PVE with commonly used preference elicitation methods in health technology assessment could be interesting.

Background

To effectively address the pressing societal challenges regarding health and health care, broad interdisciplinary collaborations are needed. Intensifying collaborations between disciplines and institutions can help to bring the required innovative solutions to preserve and improve the health and wellbeing of current and future generations. This aim lies at the heart of the convergence between the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Erasmus MC and the Delft University of Technology.  As a leading, multi-disciplinary institute, aiming to have a positive impact on the future of health and healthcare, nationally and internationally, through research and education, the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) will fund 6 PhD positions in relation to this convergence. This vacancy concerns one of these 6 PhD positions.

The candidate is expected to have a master’s degree in Economics or Public Administration, or similar, and a clear affinity with health care. We are looking for a candidate with a strong background in quantitative and qualitative research methods, and an interest in combining methodological and applied research. The candidate has excellent writing skills and an excellent command of English. Fluency in Dutch is an advantage.

We offer an appointment as PhD student for a period of 1.5 year, which will be extended with a second term of 2.5 years if the candidate performs well. Remuneration is according to the PhD scales set by the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU). The preferred starting date is October 1, 2020. In addition to conducting research, there will be teaching duties (~15% of your time) and you will be expected to take relevant courses at the Erasmus Graduate School of Social Sciences and the Humanities.

Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), named after Rotterdam-born humanist and theologian Erasmus, is a research university with a strong international orientation and a pronounced social focus, both in its education and research activities. On the lively, modern campus, more than 28.000 students and scholars of more than 100 nationalities are constantly encouraged to develop their talents and meet their ambition. Our more than 2700 scientists and employees work together with all our students to solve challenges faced by global society, drawing their inspiration from the consistently dynamic and cosmopolitan city of Rotterdam. The academic education offered at our faculties is intensive, engaging and strongly focused on practical application. We increasingly perform our research in multidisciplinary teams, which are closely interwoven with international networks. In terms of research impact and the quality of its degree programmes, EUR can compete with the foremost universities in Europe, which is reflected in its consistent top-100 position in most major university rankings. Erasmus University Rotterdam’s key values are daring, curiosity, social involvement, breaking new ground and striving for success.

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management

Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM) is part of Erasmus University Rotterdam and is responsible for a bachelor and four master programs on policy and management in healthcare, which serve 1,000 students. Research is focused on three major themes: ‘competition and regulation in healthcare’, ‘quality and efficiency in healthcare’ and ‘healthcare management’. ESHPM has about 175 employees.

The position offered is within the Health Economics (HE) research group but will have strong ties with the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM) of Delft University of Technology and the Erasmus Medical Centre. The HE section teaches and studies several prominent themes in the field of Health Economics, including behavioural and experimental health economics, global health economics, methodology of health economic evaluations, priority setting in the distribution of health and healthcare, and long-term care. Health economics research at Erasmus has been ranked 2nd in Europe and 11th in the world. Health economists at ESHPM and the Erasmus School of Economics together form the Erasmus Centre for Health Economics Research (EsCHER), one of the largest collections of health economists in Europe.