Economic issues play an important role in the often risky decisions that need to be made about disease control. The aim of this animal health course, which is intended for participants with an interest in the field of animal health economics, is to provide you with the basic economic principles and concepts that underlie decision-making about animal health problems.
Diseases have a significant influence on animal production and animal trade. The economic consequences of diseases on an animal, herd and national level can be considerable and need to be investigated to successfully implement and evaluate animal health programs and policies. Many economic tools have been developed and are currently being applied to support decisions concerning animal health. This online course will enable you to gain a basic knowledge of economic concepts and theory, thereby enabling you to better understand animal health economics and to apply economic tools more effectively.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
• Have a basic overview and understanding of the broad subject of animal health economics
• Discuss the role that economics play in the field of animal production
In particular, you should be able to:
• Understand the economic decisions made by consumers by learning about the forces that influence consumer behavior, the concept of market demand and the concept of elasticity of demand
• Understand the supply side of the market, as reflected in resource use and the production response of businesses (production function theory) and their reflection in the market supply curve
• Understand the mechanisms behind clearing market prices as they are determined under perfect and imperfect competition conditions
• Understand some of the background of the governmental role in food production and the ways in which the government can be involved in food production
• Have some understanding of the principles underlying the growth and instability of international trade
• The role of economics in the field of animal production
• Economic decisions, including consumer behavior, market demand and elasticity of demand
• The supply side of the market, resource use and the production response of businesses (the production function theory)
• The mechanisms behind market prices as they are determined under perfect and imperfect competition conditions
• The background of the government’s role in food production
• Principles underlying the growth and instability of international trade
To successfully complete this animal health course, you need to participate actively in the discussion forums and complete the learning unit assignments, including:
• One final essay
To enroll in this course, you need:
• A BSc or MSc, or a similar level of academic ability
• A basic understanding of veterinary epidemiology
• An interest in animal health economics
• Basic MS Excel skills
• Sufficient proficiency in English reading and writing
Compulsory study materials:
The course will be taught from the following textbook: Principles of Microeconomics by Libby Rittenberothy Tregarthen, which is online available. It is an excellent introductory textbook, including many examples, good summaries of key factors, so that students can practice their newly required skills. But it also contains sufficient depth to provide a good quantitative basis for further studying animal health economics.
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