The health economics unit of the Department of Economics and Finance is mainly based in the Rome campus, but shares several connections, in terms of joint research projects, with other Department’s members  based in Milan.
Research conducted by members of this area is mainly empirical and focuses on different topics in health economics and health policy evaluation, with several intersections with respect to regional economics, public finance, political economy and microeconomics.
One relevant field of research is the evaluation of productivity and efficiency of health care services, with particular focus on the use of inappropriate treatments (e.g., C-sections), the role of market incentives, the effects of fiscal decentralization on well-being, and the analysis of technology diffusion and medical staff productivity.
Two other streams of research are connected to ongoing strategic projects in which the Department of Economics and Finance is involved, and are relative to evidence-based policies on  the socioeconomic effects of migration, and on health and income inequalities.   

Among the research contributions of Department’s members in this area are:

• Turco, E., D. Delli Gatti, and S. Reissl. 2023. “V for Vaccines and Variants”, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 1-56
• Turati G., M. Di Giacomo, M. Piacenza, and L. Siciliani. 2022. “The effect of co-payments on the take-up of prenatal tests”, Journal of Health Economics, vol. 81, 102553.
• Bordignon, M., S. Coretti, M. Piacenza, and G. Turati. 2020. “Hardening subnational budget constraints via administrative subordination: The Italian experience of recovery plans in regional health services”, Health Economics.
• Brenna, E. 2020. “Should I care for my mum or for my kid? Sandwich generation and depression burden in Italy”, Health Policy.
• Cottini, E., and P. Ghinetti, P. 2020. “Health Effects of Risky Lifestyles and Adverse Working Conditions: Are Older Individuals More Penalized?”, forthcoming in British Journal of Industrial Relations.
• Lucifora, C., Y. Brilli, A. Russo, and M. Tonello. 2020. “Influenza vaccination behavior and media reporting of adverse events”, Health Policy, 124 (12): 1403-1411.
• Lucifora, C., Y. Brilli, A. Russo, and M. Tonello. 2020. “Vaccination take-up and health: evidence from a flu vaccination program for the elderly”, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 179: 323-341.
• Berta P., G. Martini, M. Piacenza, and G. Turati. 2020. “The strange case of less C-sections: Hospital ownership, market concentration, and DRG-tariff regulation”, Health Economics, vol. 29 (S2): 30–46.
• Turati, G., J. Costa-Font, and R. Levaggi. 2020. “Resilient Managed Competition during Pandemics: Lessons from the Italian experience during COVID-19”, in Health Economics, Policy and Law.
• Di Novi C., M. Piacenza, S. Robone, and G. Turati. 2019. “Does fiscal decentralization affect regional disparities in health? Quasi-experimental evidence from Italy”, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 78: 1-14.
• Cottini, E., and P. Ghinetti. 2018. “Employment insecurity and employees’ health in Denmark”, Health Economics, 27 (2): 426-439.
• Lucifora, C., and D. Vigani. 2018. “Healthcare utilization at Retirement: the role of the opportunity cost of time”, Health Economics, 27 (12): 2030-2050.
• Perucca, G., M. Piacenza, and G. Turati. 2018. “Spatial Inequality in Access to Health care: Evidence from an Italian Alpine Region”, Regional Studies, 53 (4): 478-489.
• Costa-i-Font, J., and G. Turati. 2018. “Regional health care decentralization in unitary states: equal spending, equal satisfaction?”, Regional Studies, 52 (7): 974-985.
• Cottini, E., and P. Ghinetti. 2017. “Is it the way you live or the job you have? Health effects of lifestyles and working conditions”, The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 17 (3).
• Buhai, I. S., E. Cottini, and N. Westergaard-Nielsen. 2017. “How Productive Is Workplace Health and Safety?”, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, vol. 119 (4): 1086–1104.
• Pieroni, L., and L. Salmasi. 2017. ‘’The economic impact of smoke-free policies on restaurants, cafés and bars: panel data estimates from the European countries”, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36 (4): 853-79.
• Celidoni, M., and L. Salmasi. 2017. ‘’Investigating the Poverty-Obesity Paradox in Europe”, Economics and Human Biology, 26: 70-85.
• Pasqualini, M., D. Lanari, L. Minelli, L. Pieroni, and L. Salmasi. 2017. ‘’Health and Income Inequalities in Europe: What Is the Role of Circumstances?”, Economics and Human Biology, 26: 164-73.
• Di Giacomo, M., M. Piacenza, L. Siciliani, and G. Turati. 2017. “Do Public Hospitals Respond to Changes in DRG Price Regulation? The Case of Birth Deliveries in the Italian NHS”, Health Economics, 26 (S2): 23-37.
• Cappellari, L., A. De Paoli, and G. Turati. 2016. “Do Market Incentives for Hospitals Affect Health and Service Utilization? Evidence from PPS-DRG Tariffs in Italian Regions”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 179 (4): 885-905.
• Pieroni, L., and L. Salmasi. 2015. ‘’Immigration policy and birth weight: positive externalities in Italian law”, Journal of Health Economics, 43 (C): 128-139.
• Pieroni, L., and L. Salmasi. 2015. “Economic Evaluation of the effect of Quitting Smoking on Weight Gains: Evidence from the United Kingdom”, Value in Health, 18 (6): 791-799.
• Pieroni, L., and L. Salmasi. 2015. ‘’The effect of smoking habit changes on body weight: Evidence from the UK”, Economics and Human Biology, 20 (C): 1-13.
• Cottini, E., M. Blasquez and A. Herrarte. 2014. “Socioeconomic gradient in health: how important is material deprivation?”, The Journal of Economic Inequality, 12 (2): 239-264.
• Pieroni, L., and L. Salmasi. 2014. ‘’Fast-food consumption and body weight. Evidence from the UK”, Food Policy, 46: 94-95.