In this episode Francisca Vargas discusses with us about the research she conducted during her PhD at Erasmus University Rotterdam: " Income inequalities beyond access to mental health care” and “Patient cost-sharing, mental health care and inequalities". In addition, she shares about her experience of having roles in academia, at OECD and as the Vice President of the Portuguese Association of Health Economics. 

Guest: Francisca Vargas Lopes

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik and María-José Mendoza

 Timestamps: 

(4:33) Francisca’s PhD research on “Income inequalities beyond access to mental health care”

(19:27) Discussion on the target group of the study “Patient cost-sharing, mental health care and inequalities"

(31:27) Dissemination of findings among policy makers and general public

(38:00) Challenges of having pursued a Multidisciplinary PhD

(47:00) Roles both in academia and in policy making complementing each other

(54:00) Role as the Vice President of the Portuguese Association for Health Economics

Sources: 

Lopes FV, Ravesteijn B, Van Ourti T, Riumallo-Herl C. Income inequalities beyond access to mental health care: a Dutch nationwide record-linkage cohort study of baseline disease severity, treatment intensity, and mental health outcomes. Lancet Psychiatry. 2023 Aug;10(8):588-597.

Lopes FV, Riumallo Herl CJ, Mackenbach JP, Van Ourti T. Patient cost-sharing, mental health care and inequalities: A population-based natural experiment at the transition to adulthood. Soc Sci Med. 2022 Mar;296:114741. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114741. Epub 2022 Jan 29. PMID: 35144223.

 

Guest: Jannis Stöckel 

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and Prithviraj Basu Mallik 

 

In this episode we are happy to have Jannis Stöckel chatting with us about his working paper titled "Staying Sick but Feeling Better? – The Impact of Health Shocks on Health Perceptions and Behaviors" co-authored with Pieter Bakx and Bram Wouterse. Draft is available upon request. He is working both at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Health Economics section of ESHPM and at the London School of Economics LSE Health research centre. He also shares with us his experiences of presenting at conferences such as the Essen Health conference. We discuss the pros and cons of going to small versus larger conferences, and what to email another research that you would like to meet up with at a conference. He also gives lots of advice for PhDs and young researchers. More tips are also available upon request! 

 

Timestamps: 

 

(2:20) - Introduction to Jannis' PhD dissertation 

(4:55) - Discussion of Jannis' working paper  

(22:10) - What are optimal choices?  

(25:30) - Jannis' experience presenting at conferences  

(32:39) - Template for contacting another researcher before a conference 

(34:30) - Jannis' experience working in academia at both Erasmus University Rotterdam and LSE 

(39:42) - The benefits of doing a research visit  

(42:08) - General tips for PhDs and young researchers 

Greetings to the reader or listener?

 

We're EcoEchoes and this episode we'll introduce ourselves to you! and the podcast of course :)

Guest: Ava Hoogenboom (PhD student at ESHPM)

Hosts: María-José Mendoza and Karen Trujillo Jara

Short description: On this episode, Ava discusses her research titled “Loss aversion in EQ-5D-Y-3L: does it explain differences in willingness to trade-off life duration in adult and child perspectives?”, which was awarded at the 4th EuroQol Early Career Researcher Meeting.

Timestamps

(4:35) - Gap addressed in the paper

(5:43) - Definition of loss aversion

(11:37) - Further research on loss aversion

(15:42) - Challenges during the design and implementation of the study

(21:22) - Audience/participants at EuroQol ‘s Early Career Researcher Meeting.

(22:54) - Experience of being a PhD student

Source:

Hoogenboom, A.F. H., Lipman, S.A. (2024). Loss aversion in EQ-5D-Y-3L: does it explain differences in willingness to trade-off life duration in adult and child perspectives? EsCHER Working Paper Series No. 2024002, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Available from: workingpapers | Erasmus University Rotterdam (eur.nl)

Guest: Nikkil Sudharsanan (Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Munich)

Hosts: María-José Mendoza and Fanny Tallgren

Short description:  On this episode Prof. Nikkil Sudharsanan shares some insights related to his paper on patient's influence on clinician behavior in the context of hypertension screening in India.

Timestamps

(03:29)- Research summary (motivation, set-up, findings)

(13:27)- Putting findings into perspective 

(19:06)- Potential of non-financial incentives

(27:46)- Presenting findings to different audiences

(32:35)- Where to place your research? Tips!

Paper/Links:

• Working paper "Under-Delivery of Preventive Care and Patient Influence on Clinician Behavior: Evidence from India" (link)
• Book chapter "Behavioral Science and Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries" (link)

Guest: Callum Brindley

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and Karen Trujillo Jara

Short description:  In this episode Callum discusses with us about his paper on the effect of hospital spending on waiting times and findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study.

Timestamps:

(2:09) - Paper on waiting times. How changes in hospital spending might affect hospital activity (i.e. admission of patients).

(7:07) - Thoughts on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021

(11:08) - Explanation and findings of mortality concentration in the GBD Study

(13:31) - Life expectancy

 (23:54) - Tips for PhD candidates

(30:30) - Podcasts recommended

Sources:

• Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Global Burden of Disease 2021: Findings from the GBD 2021 Study. Seattle, WA: IHME, 2024.
• Callum Brindley, James Lomas & Luigi Siciliani (2023) - The effect of hospital spending on waiting times - Health Economics (United Kingdom), 32 (11), 2427-2445 - doi: 10.1002/hec.4735O

List of podcasts:

• Race & Health Podcast
• IHME Global Health Insights
• Lancet Voice
• BMJ Podcast (including series on Decolonising health and medicine)
• WHO Global Health Matters and Science in 5
• ABC Health Report
• BBC Health Check
• John Hopkins Public Health on Call
• The Mixtape with Scott
• Choiceology
• Nature Podcast
• No Such Thing As A Fish

Guest: Padmaja Ayyagari (Associate Professor at University of South Florida)  

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik and Fanny Tallgren 

Short description:  In this episode Professor Padmaja Ayyagari discusses with us her paper about the Medicaid program applied in the United States. 

Timestamps:

(01:38)- Medicaid (public insurance program in the United States) and paper scope (understand how Medicaid affect household's savings)   

(07:35)- Paper's contribution  

(14:08)- Conclusions and future work to identify the implications of such a program  

(20:36)- Personal experiences across different research contexts (e.g. theoretical and applied research)  

(32:00)- Health economics framework. What could fall in it? "Thinking through"  

(35:24)- What makes a paper good?  

Link: https://sites.google.com/view/padmajaayyagari 

In this episode, Professor Ana Balsa is chatting to us about her latest working paper titled "Mental Health Spillovers in Primary Schools". The paper studies the peer effects of students with mental health problems using longitudinal Danish register data.  We also touch upon her work on the parenting behavioural change communication intervention "Crianza Positiva" in Uruguay. On top of discussing her papers, we also talk about what it is like to conduct research in different continents and how to publish in top journals.  

• Guests: Ana Balsa (Professor at Universidad de Montevideo) 
• Hosts: Prithviraj Basumallik, Karen Trujillo Jara 

Timestamps: 

(01:08) - Introduction to the working paper "Mental Health Spillovers in Primary Schools" 

(10:00) - Discussion of the parenting behavioural change communication intervention "Crianza Positiva" in Uruguay 

(16:50) - How to publish in top journals?  

 

In today's episode Emeritus Professor Michael Drummond  converses with us about the origins of HE; its relevance; perspectives commonly used in economic evaluation; aspects such as equity in health care and tips for the PhD path.

• Guests:  M. Drummond (Emeritus professor at University of York) , Pieter van Baal & Vivian Reckers-Droog (Professors at ESHPM)
• Hosts:  Prithviraj Basumallik, María José Mendoza

Timestamps:

(08:06) - Health economics in the mid 60s 

(19:52) - First health economic evaluations and motivations to expand its scope

(50:18) - Equity in health care and HEEs in LMICs 

(58:49) - Recommendations for PhD students (writing tips, set of skills, labour market opportunities)

Additional resources:

• "Building a career in Health Economics" by Michael Drummond

Today's guest is our colleague and PhD candidate Jawa Issa. We discuss the main findings in her recent publication about income inequality in COVID-19 mortality in the Netherlands and, more broadly, her research about income inequality in mortality using data from other high-income countries like the US.  We also share some of our experiences at different health econ conferences!

• Guest: Jawa Issa
• Hosts: Prithviraj Basumallik, Fanny Tallgren, María-José Mendoza

Timestamps:

(01:02) - Income-related inequality in health in the NL and other higher-income settings

(12:03) - Paper's findings (NL) 

(19:00) - Seminars/Conferences/networking tips 

Additional resources 

• [Link to publication]

In this episode, Sander discusses his recent publication about a preference elicitation method called ‘Participatory Value Evaluation - PVE’ and his ongoing applied research.

Guest: Sander Boxebeld (PhD candidate, ESHPM)

Hosts:  Fanny Tallgren & Karen Trujillo

Timestamps: 

(01:37) - PVE as a tool for researchers and policy makers and characteristics of the method 

(17:44) - Research ongoing using PVE to identify people’s preferences towards elderly health care system

(22:34) - Main findings of the study: clusters preferences for health expenditure allocation

(23:20) - Further research suggested: Study on how respondents process the choice task (e.g. effect of different designs and layouts in the choice task

Additional resources: 

• PVE method [link]
• Sander's paper: Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE): A New Preference-Elicitation Method for Decision Making in Healthcare [link]

In this episode, Stefan Lipman, Assistant Professor at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (Erasmus University Rotterdam), discusses with us how financial incentives can be used to promote healthy behaviour. The conversation covers incentive design (carrots vs. sticks), ethical and equity considerations, funding and cost-effectiveness, the role of structural determinants of health, and the sustainability of behaviour change. In the final part, he shares advice for PhD students and early-career researchers on teaching, presenting, and transitioning to a PhD in Health Economics coming from a different background.

Guest: Stefan Lipman, Assistant Professor, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Hosts: Karen Trujillo, Andrea de Palma

 

(03:35) Stefan's research background and motivation

(06:08) Why to focus on financial incentives for healthy behaviour?

(09:52) Carrots and sticks: reward-based and loss-based designs

(14:34) Targeting and equity

(24:25) Combining financial incentives

(35:00) Structural influences on healthy behaviour

(59:57) Transitioning into a PhD in health economics coming from a different background

In this episode, we have a casual chat about Prithvi’s experience attending and presenting at the International Long-Term Care Policy Network (ILPN) 2024 Conference in Bilbao. We talk about what the conference was like, from the city to the general vibe, and what it’s like to present research to a mixed audience. More broadly, we chat about navigating big conferences solo, tips for meeting people and starting conversations, and general observations about conference culture. 

 

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik & Fanny Tallgren

If you would like to learn more about this conference, click here to go to the ILPN website. 

 

This episode's guest is Michael Haylock, a health economist now working in consulting after a postdoc at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He presents his paper “Improving the availability of stem cell donors,  a letter and email intervention” which looks at the effects of a behavioural intervention to reduce attrition among registered donors. We talk about the importance and logistics of stem cell donation, how commitment nudges can help identify more reliable donors, and the challenges of working with large registries. Michael also discusses a second paper on pro-social workplace behaviour, showing how leadership and personality shape helping cultures. The working paper is titled "Helping in the Workplace: The Role of Leadership and Employee Personality and Preferences". The episode ends with reflections on PhD life advice and transitioning to consultancy. 

Guest: Michael Haylock, Health Economist at bcmed GmbH Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Prithviraj Basu Mallik Disclaimer: The views expressed are Michael’s own and do not represent those of his current or previous institutions.

Timestamps:

(00:23) Introduction to Michael Haylock and his research background

(03:56) What is the bone marrow registry and why stem cell donation matters

(08:29) How the donor–patient matching and international coordination works

(13:16) High attrition rates among registered donors and behavioural intervention design

(18:03) Summary of key findings: commitment nudges and donor reliability

(30:13) Second paper: helping behaviour in the workplace and leadership roles

(36:00) Trust, altruism, and personality as drivers of workplace cooperation

(43:39) Transitioning from academia to consulting: motivation and differences

(51:00) Productivity advice for PhD students and research workflow tips

This episode’s guest is Benjamin Chibuye, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Danish Centre for Health Economics (DaCHE) in Department of Public Health at the University of Southern Denmark. He presents his working paper on physician altruism and opioid prescribing, focusing on how Danish general practitioners respond to national guidelines in light of their professional motivations. The conversation explores the complexities of health provider behaviour, the role of public service motivation, and the broader policy implications for addressing opioid overuse.

Guest: Benjamin Chibuye, Postdoctoral Researcher, Danish Centre for Health Economics, University of Southern Denmark

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Andrea De Palma

Timestamps:

(01:05) Benjamin’s academic journey and research interests in development and health economics

(06:08) Study overview: physician altruism, opioid guidelines, and the double agency problem

(14:16) Measuring altruism through survey data and linking it to prescribing behaviour

(20:00) Analytical strategy: using registry data and a difference-in-differences design

(27:25) Why physician heterogeneity matters for health policy effectiveness

(32:57) Reflections on the supply side of the opioid crisis and advice for early-career researchers

 

This one is for the experimental economists. Fanny shares her experience attending the Economic Science Association’s European Meeting in Helsinki in September 2024. This was Fanny's first experience attending a non-health conference. Listen to find out why the conference is worth attending if you run experiments. The next European meeting will take place in Brno, Czech Republic from Wednesday 3 September until Saturday 6 September 2025. Find out more about the conference by clicking this link. Deadline for submitting an abstract is 5th May. 

Also, this episode was recorded back in October 2024, which is before we had a proper studio. Therefore, this episode has rougher audio than in our latest episodes. Thanks for your patience with the sound quality!

Timestamps:

(0:00) Why try an "econ” conference & what the ESA actually does (2:00) Keynote #1 – Ingvil Almas (4:30) Keynote #2 – Douglas Bernheim (9:20) Keynote #3 – Leonardo Bursztyn  (12:00) Special sessions: How to scale experiments with John List and Abhijeet Singh, The importance of reproducibility of experiments, How to get tenure (18:10) The range of experiments presented (Field, lab and online) (21:00) Conference culture—walking tours, beer tasting, reindeer-spotting & Sunday-9 a.m. presentations (24:00) Main take-aways

In this episode we introduce our co-host Dyllis De Pessemier. She briefly introduces herself and shares her experience attending the 34th Alzheimer Europe Conference in Geneva. She presented her first project there, titled "The effect of a person with dementia's permanent nursing home admission on their partner's mental well-being". We also talk about our experiences attending conferences alone. 

The next Alzheimer Europe conference will be from 6th to 8th October 2025 in Bologna, Italy. Abstract submission closes 30th April 2025! Link to the conference is here.

 

This episode's guest is Benoit Decerf, a Senior Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank, presenting his paper named "Attitudes on the trade-off between poverty and longevity". The discussion explores how mortality can be integrated into poverty measurement, the methodology used to estimate people's willingness to trade income for additional years of life, and the implications of these findings for policy and economic modeling. Benoit also shares insights into working at the World Bank compared to academia and provides advice for those interested in research roles at international institutions.

Guest: Benoit Decerf, Senior Economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Andrea De Palma

Disclaimer: The discussion from this podcast episode reflects Benoit's views, not those of the World Bank.

Timestamps: 

(01:19) Objectives and overview of Benoit's research

(05:54) Methodology for estimating the trade-off between poverty and mortality

(16:56) Key findings and cross-country comparisons

(32:55) Implications of the study and future research

(35:43) Working at the World Bank and tips for young researchers

In our third conference review episode, Prithvi discusses with Fanny his experience attending two courses in Lucerne, Switzerland by the Swiss Society of Health Economics: one on Empirical Policy Evaluation and another on Machine Learning. The discussion covers expectations, course content, key takeaways, and practical applications of the methods learned.

You can find the link to the Lucerne website here.

We got the chance to record an episode with Alexander Marin and to talk about his working paper "The Heterogeneous Risk and Dynamics of Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures" where he uses machine learning (multivariate random forest) and time series models (ARMA) to analyse healthcare expenditure trends in the US. We talk about how health care spending and the persistence of elevated spending following a health shock varies across different demographic groups, such as age, income, insurance status, and health conditions. We also briefly touch on the challenges of writing papers which are methodological contributions, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Lastly, Alexander shares a bit about his ongoing research related to the future of healthcare funding in ageing societies.

Guest: Alexander Marin, Postdoc at the University of Southern Denmark in the Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Andrea De Palma

Timestamps: 

(01:49) Start of discussion of paper

(08:58) Methods used in the paper

(27:42) Results of the paper

(35:55) Alexander's work at the Interdisciplinary Centre on Population Dynamics

 

In the second conference review, Fanny talks to Prithvi about her experience at the Nordic Health Economists’ Study Group meeting which took place in August 2024 at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, Finland. 

You can find the link to the 2024 NHESG website here.

If you would like to apply for NHESG conference at University of Oslo coming up in August 2025, you can do so using this link. Abstract submission deadline is Monday, April 14, 2025. 

We had the pleasure to record an episode with Amitabh Chandra. We discuss his working paper "Productivity Differences in Fundamental Life-Sciences Discovery" co-authored with Connie Xu. The aim of the paper is to research whether a life scientist's university has an effect on their productivity. To answer this question, they first attempt to measure a scientist's productivity, and then use a movers design to estimate the causal effect of the university on productivity. We end the episode with a conversation about what makes a research idea worth pursuing as well as the purpose and art of presentations.  

Guest: Amitabh Chandra (Professor at Harvard) 

Hosts: Prithviraj Basumallik and Fanny Tallgren  

Timestamps:

(4:45) Beginning of the discussion of working paper 

(14:38) The results of the paper 

(19:17) Movers design used to estimate the causal effect

(28:00) What makes a research idea worth pursuing? 

(36:36) The purpose and art of presentations

This episode's guest is Orla Doyle, Professor at the School of Economics at University College Dublin and Director of the UCD Childhood and Human Development Research Center. We discuss her extensive experience, both in conducting research and valorizing its societal impact through policy. An excellent example is the 'Preparing For Life' - trial, an early childhood intervention, of which the age-14 follow-up study has recently been wrapped up. Read more about the trial: https://geary.ucd.ie/preparingforlife/. 

 

Guest: Orla Doyle (Professor at the School of Economics, University College Dublin) 

Hosts: Andrea De Palma and Dyllis De Pessemier 

 

Timestamps: 

(00:35) Introduction and research focus 

(09:35) The role of economists in the field of early childhood development studies 

(12:11) The 'Preparing For Life' - trial 

(30:20) Societal impact of the 'Preparing For Life' - trial 

(35:30) Project management as a researcher 

(40:15) Creating positive impact through research 

(44:15) Tips for PhD students 

 

In this episode of EcoEchoes, we speak with Professor Job van Exel, a health economist, director of research at ESHPM, and the original founder of this podcast. We discuss the challenges in defining and measuring informal caregiving, especially for incorporating it into economic evaluations and then to further down the line inform policy. For example, we talk about the distinctions between objective and subjective burden, and the different assumptions and potential biases in different valuation approaches (proxy good, opportunity cost, contingent valuation, perseverance time). In the final part of the episode, Job reflects on his career trajectory, the role of luck and curiosity, and gives advice for early-stage researchers on career planning and embracing opportunities.

 

Guest: Job van Exel, Professor of Health Economics at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM), Erasmus University Rotterdam Host: Fanny Tallgren, Andrea De Palma

 

If you are interested in reading more about this topic, then this paper summarizes work done at ESHPM in terms of measuring and valuing the impact of patient interventions on informal carers. In this paper, you can learn more about the perseverance time measure, and in this paper, how to use a discrete choice experiment to determine the value of an hour of time caregiving. This paper describes how to include broader effects of caregiving in an economic evaluation of a patient intervention using a measure that is compatible with how effects are measured in patients (and the healthcare perspective). This paper shows how to estimate caregiver time using information that is typically available in clinical trials: the EQ-5D scores of patients and their gender. 

In this episode, Alexander Ahammer, an applied microeconomist, chats with and Prithvi and Andrea after his presentation about his working paper "The labor and health economics of breast cancer" co-authored with Gerald J. Pruckner and Flora Stiftinger. The paper uses Austrian microdata to study how a breast cancer diagnosis impacts health expenditures and labor market outcomes. They find that a diagnosis increases inpatient health expenditure, imposes a wage penalty and reduces work hours in comparison to other women of similar age who do not get diagnosed with breast cancer. They argue that a potential reason for reduced work hours is a change in time preferences rather than incapacitation or employer discrimination. Ahammer also shares his research interests in general and gives advice for early-career researchers on finding meaningful research questions and improving presentation skills.

Guest: Alexander Ahammer (Assistant professor at the Johannes Kepler University Linz and a Research Affiliate at IZA Institute of Labor Economics)  

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik and Andrea De Palma

  

Timestamps: 

(01:14) Ahammer introduces himself and summarizes the paper

(07:00) The paper's research methodology and data 

(14:17) Ahammer’s broader research agenda

(18:23) Discussion of how to choose research projects. Low hanging fruit vs "big" research ideas

(23:40) The importance of presentation skills and telling a story

 

If you would like to donate for breast cancer research, we have put a link for you here. 

Happy New Year and welcome back! 

In this short episode, Fanny and Prithvi share their own experience at the Lowlands Health Economists' Study Group (lolaHESG) conference, outlining how the program is structured and highlighting key activities and tips on how to make the best of the experience. 

This episode marks the start of a series of conference reviews, so stay tuned for more firsthand insights!

 

 

This episode features Sofía Fernández-Guerrico, assistant professor of Economics at the University of Konstanz, discussing her research on the intersection of labor markets, technology, and health. The conversation revolves around her studies on the effects of broadband Internet on mental health, trade liberalization's impact on health in Mexico, and the broader implications of work-related and societal changes on well-being. The discussion concludes with reflections on mental health in academia.

 

Guest: Sofía Fernández-Guerrico (Assistant professor at the University of Konstanz)  

Hosts: María-José Mendoza and Fanny Tallgren

  

Timestamps: 

(00:38) Sofía introduces herself and her research in Labor and Health Economics 

(03:09) How Internet access shapes mental health: research context and design

(12:10) Unpacking the mechanisms: the impact of Internet access on mental health

(27:44) The importance of “right to disconnect” policies for mental health

(30:23) Trade liberalization’s health consequences in Mexico

(39:39) Reflections on mental health in academia and tips for early-career researchers 

 

References:

Article: The Effect of Broadband Expansion on Mental Health (with Ilan Tojerow) (work in progress)

Guerrico, S. F. (2021). The effects of trade-induced worker displacement on health and mortality in Mexico. Journal of health economics, 80, 102538.

Podcast episodes: How to thrive at work and How to fail at work

 

This episode's guest is Carlos Riumallo Herl, who is an assistant professor at the Erasmus School of Economics. His research focuses on healthy ageing and the role of prevention, especially in low- and middle income countries. We discuss one of his most recent publications, shared work with Mylene Lagarde, which explores the impact of individual and group incentives to encourage cardiovascular check-ups in El Salvador. We discuss his experiences with field experiments and he shares tips and tricks on dealing with different stakeholders in a research project. 

  

Guest: Carlos Riumallo Herl (Assistant professor at the Erasmus School of Economics)  

Hosts: Karen Trujillo Jara and Fanny Tallgren 

  

Timestamps: 

(01:00) Introduction and research focus 

(02:05) Discussion of recent publication, in collaboration with Mylene Lagarde: "Better together? Group incentives and the demand for prevention", published in the Journal of Development Economics. 

(03:38) Aims & objectives of the project 

(07:16) Group incentives 

(15:32) Discussion of the results 

(33:10) Experiences with field experiments 

(37:35) Managing different stakeholders' interests and expectations in research  

  

References: 

Article: Lagarde, M., Herl, C.R. (2025). Better together? Group incentives and the demand for prevention. Journal of Development Economics, 103365.  

In this episode, Mario Macis discusses his research on trust and healthcare-seeking behavior. He provides insights into the challenges and implications of trust in the healthcare system, linking it to topics like COVID-19, the role of public institutions, and differences in healthcare trust across political lines. Mario also shares his career experiences and advice for junior scholars on publishing and navigating academia.

 

Guest: Mario Macis (Professor of Economics and Management at Johns Hopkins University)

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and María-José Mendoza

 

Timestamps:

(1:59) Marco presents his diverse research interests and expertise

(6:53) The role of trust in economics and healthcare

(13:32) Explanation of the theoretical model of trust and healthcare-seeking behavior

(27:28) The observed association between trust and healthcare-seeking behavior

(39:08) COVID-19 and the political divide in trust towards public health agencies

(48:47) Mario shares guidance on publishing and reflects on his future research directions 

 

References:

Working paper: Trust and Health care-seeking behavior

Working paper mentioned about use of qualitative data: Haaland et al. (2024)

In this episode, Marco Varkevisser delves into the Dutch healthcare system and its sustainability, providing an helpful overview and insights from his most recent research on the topic. He discusses practical case studies, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the current challenges within healthcare. Marco also offers valuable advice for teachers and aspiring students based on his experiences and academic recognition.

 

Guest: Marco Varkevisser (Full Professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management)

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and Karen Trujillo Jara

 

Timestamps:

(02:12) Marco's research expertise and interests

(06:01) An introduction to the Dutch healthcare system and its sustainability

(18:01) The Dutch basic benefit package and the role of stakeholders

(26.45) The issue of global shortage of healthcare labour

(29.20) COVID-19 case: did the Dutch healthcare system cope well?

(32:37) The trade-off between collaboration and competition

(43:03) Future research on planetary health

(45:22) Advice for teachers and future students

 

References:

Report: Sustainability and Resilience in the Dutch Health System 

Journal article: Competition and collaboration in health care: reconciling the irreconcilable? Lessons from The Netherlands

In this episode, we are chatting to Lisa Voois about her PhD thesis on health-related expectations and behaviours. We are also joined for the first time by our new co-host, Andrea! We first talk about her single authored paper "When the sun goes down: Effects of sunset time on adolescent sleep, mental health and education". We then discuss research of beliefs and expectations more generally. In her thesis, Lisa analysed the accuracy of long-term care risk perceptions and retirement expectations.  

 

Guest: Lisa Voois (Assistant Professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management.)

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and Andrea De Palma

 

Timestamps:

(01:25) Brief summary of Lisa's thesis 

(03:00) Introduction to Lisa's single authored paper on the effects of sunset time on adolescent sleep, mental health and education

(14:45) Discussion of the results of the paper  

(21:33) Experience writing a single-authored paper  

(27:25) Measuring beliefs / perceptions / expectations  

(38:00) Role of beliefs in influencing behaviours such as planning for retirement

(43:10) Contribution of thesis to society 

 

 

References:

Book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker (2017)

 

In this episode, Marlies discusses her research on delayed nursing home admissions, how they impact the hospitalization sector and other spillover effects. She also reflects upon her PhD, sharing useful tips around how to survive your PhD and the importance of research visits.

Guest: Marlies Bär (Assistant professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management) 

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren and Karen Trujillo Jara

Timestamps: 

(00:55) Introduction and her research in resource allocation in long-term care

(04:48) Effects of delayed nursing home admissions - Research aim, methodology and causes of delayed admissions

(13:53) Consequences of delayed admissions - Impact on hospitalization rates and cost-benefit evaluation

(24:13) Policy implications - Importance of media outreach, better admission criteria and research timing

(29:22) Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on nursing home demand

(31:02) External research visit - Why should you do it?

(37:11) What to do after a PhD and tips for surviving the PhD journey

 

Link to working paper: Spillover Effects of Delayed Nursing Home Admissions on Hospitalisations and Costs

In this episode Bram explains key elements of the economics of prevention and long-term care, highlighting applied research in the Dutch context. He also shares his experience working in the policy-advice and academic environments and finally some words of advice for PhD students and recent graduates. 

Guest: Bram Wouterse (Associate professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management) 

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik and María-José Mendoza

 Timestamps: 

(01:11) Intro - how do you identify yourself? 

(02:56) The value of prevention: health vs economic perspective 

(11:15) Economic evaluations and prevention-related interventions: suitable framework?

(17:36) Consequences of healthy ageing 

(25:09) LTC research - how did you start? Lessons from the LTC system in the NL? What is the future of LTC? 

(42:49) Life after the PhD: job tasks in policy advice vs academia 

(52:40) Tips for PhDs: expectations, priorities, career trajectory as an academic 

 

 

This episode’s guest is Danae Arroyos-Calvera, Associate Professor in Behavioural and Experimental Economics at the University of Birmingham. She discusses her research on cooperation, moral wiggle room, and plausible deniability in public goods games. The conversation explores the challenge of translating lab findings to policy, the importance of publishing null results, and the balance between image, incentives, and fairness in human behaviour. In the final part, Danae shares advice for early-career researchers on trusting the process, asking for what you need, and handling tough seminar questions with confidence.

Guest: Danae Arroyos-Calvera, Associate Professor, University of Birmingham Host: Fanny Tallgren, Andrea De Palma

Timestamps: (00:20) Danae’s research background in behavioural economics (07:25) The “Limits of Moral Wiggle Room” experiment (23:00) Results and implications (27:00) From lab to policy and the value of null results (42:00) Advice for PhD students and young researchers

In this episode, Yubraj Acharya discusses his paper ‘Reducing Non-Prescription Antibiotics Use through Community Education in Low-Income Countries’. He sheds light on the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and shares about the intervention he conducted in Nepal, aimed at reducing non-prescribed antibiotic use among parents of children.

Guest: Yubraj Acharya, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Demography at Pennsylvania State University, The United States.

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren, Karen Trujillo Jara

Timestamps:

0:36 Meet our guest: Yubraj Acharya

06:00 Drivers of antibiotics use in community contexts

11:40 Series of work conducted on Antimicrobial Resistance

12:30 Components of the study intervention in Nepal

21:50 Findings 

33:10 Considerations for scaling up a similar study in other settings

37:00 Experience of living in Rotterdam

In this episode, Judith Bom and Gaia Bagnasco discuss their latest paper mapping care pathways for people in their last 6 years before death with dementia in the Netherlands. You can find the paper here. First, we talk about why studying ageing and dementia matters and how the Dutch long-term care system works. We then move on to discuss what their latent class analysis reveals about three distinct care trajectories: the late formal care group, the mixed care group and the early nursing home group. We also talk about the important roles of informal care, income, gender and the home environment in predicting these pathways. Finally, we discuss their upcoming research on dementia-friendly housing and cross-country comparisons.

Guest: Judith Bom (Assistant professor) and Gaia Bagnasco (PhD), both in health economics at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren, Dyllis De Pessemier

Mentioned resources:

Dementie in kaart 

This episode’s guest is Anna Stirner, a PhD Candidate in Health Economics at the University of Cologne. She discusses her experimental study on physicians’ use of therapeutic decision support (DS) systems in pediatric antibiotic prescribing, examining how access, effort costs, and quality incentives shape uptake and care quality. The conversation explores the challenge of antibiotic overprescription, how younger versus more experienced physicians respond to DS, and policy implications for integrating DS into clinical practice. At the end, Anna also shares her next research steps and gives advice to PhD students.

Guest: Anna Stirner, PhD Candidate, University of Cologne Host: Andrea De Palma

Timestamps:

(00:13) Anna’s research background and interest in decision support

(02:40) Decision support systems in German healthcare

(04:01) Research design and experimental setup

(12:54) Main results: effort costs, incentives, and uptake

(15:20) Case severity, physician experience, and heterogeneity

(21:00) Policy takeaways and implementation challenges

(23:52) Future research directions and advice for PhD students

Episode Description

This episode’s guest is Vahid, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Erasmus School of Economics. His work is focused on the intersection between labor and health economics. In this episode, he presents his working paper on childhood mental health effects of early life exposure to paternal job loss. The discussion sheds light on a critical aspect of job loss and how this scenario can hit harder on families by emotional and psychological challenges.  

Guest: Vahid Moghani, Postdoctoral Researcher, Erasmus School of Economics.

Host: Fanny Tallgren

Timestamps:

(06:02) Introduction to the study: job loss and effects on people

(10:14) Details on the dataset used (e.g., sample characteristics)

(21:40) Main findings of the study related to children’s medication use

(29:51) Reflections on policy implications

(35:50) Causal random forest as an alternative method to assess heterogeneity

(42:18) Recommendations on the use of AI in the scientific field

This episode’s guest is Professor Hans van Kippersluis from Erasmus School of Economics. He discusses his working paper “Skipping your workout, again? Measuring and understanding time inconsistency in physical activity”, co-authored with Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh and Kirsten Rohde. The paper studies time inconsistency in physical activity using survey data from the Dutch Lifelines cohort. They find that participants not only overestimate but also underestimate their future exercise. We talk about why present bias may not be the only explanation for the misalignment between intentions and behaviour, and how it may not be a stable personality trait. Hans also explains the use of choice matching to incentivise honest survey responses. Finally, we discuss how to write well-structured papers, the use of econometric methods for causal inference, and how Hans keeps up with developments in the econometrics literature.

Guest: Hans van Kippersluis, Professor of Applied Economics at Erasmus School of Economics Hosts: Fanny Tallgren & Prithviraj Basu Mallik

Timestamps:

(00:23) Introduction to Professor Hans and his research journey (03:43) Motivation for the study on physical activity and time inconsistency (08:21) Choice matching method to incentivise honest survey responses (13:33) Key findings of the paper (30:40) How to write a good economics paper (39:05) Causal inference and staying up to date with econometrics

This episode’s guest is Amal Ahmad, an Assistent Professor at the Development Economics group at Wageningen University. She presents her working paper on the effect of early mother's marriage on child growth in India. The authors explore this causal relationship using age at menarche as an instrumental variable. The conversation discusses the data and methods used, as well as policy implications and their political feasibility in the Indian context.

Guest: Amal Ahmad, Assistent Professor, Development Economics group, Wageningen University

Hosts: Prithviraj Basu Mallik & Dyllis De Pessemier

This episode’s guest is Pieter van Baal, Professor of Public Health Economics at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management and head of the Health Economics department. The conversation explores pharmaceutical pricing, patents, and innovation incentives, discussing why healthcare systems negotiate medicine prices and whether the current model for developing innovative medicines is functioning effectively. Pieter reflects on the role of governments, pharmaceutical companies, and public funding in medical innovation, while also considering alternative systems that could make medicines more accessible and affordable. The episode additionally touches on academic leadership, research culture, and advice for PhD students navigating academia.  

Guest: Pieter van Baal, Professor of Public Health Economics, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management Host: Fanny Tallgren, Andrea De Palma

Timestamps:

(00:45) Pieter’s background and journey into health economics (09:30) The Dutch advisory committee and pharmaceutical price negotiations (19:50) Is the current pharmaceutical innovation system working? (30:30) Alternative models for patents, innovation, and public funding (44:30) Innovation in China, the US, and Europe (46:45) Leadership, department culture, and advice for PhD students

This episode’s guest is Frédérique Franken, a PhD candidate at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). She discusses her research on the environmental sustainability of healthcare, focusing on the role of insurer–provider contract negotiations in driving greener practices. The conversation explores how healthcare systems contribute to climate change, the Dutch policy context (including the Green Deal Sustainable Healthcare), and the challenges of translating sustainability goals into concrete actions. Frédérique also reflects on her interdisciplinary path from medicine to health economics and the practical realities of conducting mixed-methods research.

Guest: Frédérique Franken, PhD Candidate, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management Host: Prithviraj Basu Mallik, Andrea De Palma

Timestamps:

(00:50) Background and path from medicine to health economics (06:20) What sustainability in healthcare means and why it matters (13:20) Policy context: Green Deal and integrated care agreement (18:10) Research design: documents and interviews (25:00) Key findings on sustainability in contract negotiations (27:00) Challenges: costs, incentives, and implementation

This episode’s guest is Elisa de Weerd, a PhD candidate in Health Economics at the Erasmus School of Economics and incoming postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University. She discusses her research on employment and earnings dynamics before and after transgender transitioning using Dutch administrative data. The conversation explores how large-scale administrative datasets can help study labor market inequalities faced by transgender individuals, the methodological challenges of identifying transitioning events in the data, and the implications for understanding economic outcomes and wellbeing. Elisa also reflects on how the project developed during her PhD and on future research directions.

Guest: Elisa de Weerd, PhD Candidate, Erasmus School of Economics Host: Fanny Tallgren, Andrea De Palma

Timestamps:

(00:20) Elisa’s background and research interests (05:10) Motivation for studying transgender transitioning and economic outcomes (10:30) Data and research design using Dutch administrative records (22:00) Main findings on employment and earnings around transition (31:00) Interpretation, limitations, and policy relevance (38:30) Current projects and advice for PhD students

This episode features Johannes Cordier, a visiting PhD student from the University of St. Gallen at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Johannes discusses two papers using Swiss hospital administrative data. The first examines how machine learning methods can identify under-reported sepsis cases, shedding light on how coding practices and reimbursement incentives affect data quality. The second studies how patient placement across hospital wards influences mortality, combining causal machine learning with decision-theoretic approaches to account for capacity constraints.

The episode concludes with reflections on research visits, academic conferences, and practical advice for PhD students navigating research careers and industry pathways.

Guest: Johannes Cordier, Visiting PhD Student (University of St. Gallen)

Hosts: Fanny Tallgren, Prithviraj Basu Mallik

Timestamps: (01:50) Background and research focus (03:40) Sepsis under-reporting and admin data (11:35) Machine learning methods (17:40) Patient placement and mortality (31:20) Research visits and PhD career advice

This episode’s guest is Sanna Azzouz, PhD candidate in Health Technology Assessment at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She discusses her paper "Cost-effectiveness analysis of image-guided ablation versus conventional ablation in patients with recurrent ventricular tachycardia in France: results from the inEurHeart trial".

The conversation covers how ventricular tachycardia develops after myocardial infarction, the clinical and economic trade-offs between different treatment options, and how AI-based imaging can reduce procedure time and costs without compromising patient outcomes. The episode also reflects on the challenges of measuring quality of life in severe cardiac conditions and translating short-term trial results into long-term health economic insights.

In the final part, Sanna shares her experience working at the intersection of healthcare, economics, and AI, and offers personal advice for PhD students on growth, balance, and enjoying the research journey.

Guest: Sanna Azzouz, PhD Candidate, Erasmus University Rotterdam Hosts: Karen Trujillo, Andrea De Palma

Timestamps: (00:55) Sanna’s background and research focus (06:55) Ventricular tachycardia and treatment pathways (12:54) Image-guided vs conventional ablation and AI (15:45) The InHeart trial and key findings (23:00) Quality of life, uncertainty, and long-term outcomes (38:53) Advice for PhD students and early-career researchers