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Course Offerings

Course Details

Fall 2011-2012
ENV 304 / ECO 328 / EEB 304 / WWS 496 (SA)  

Disease Ecology, Economics, and Policy

Bryan T. Grenfell
Ramanan Laxminarayan

The dynamics of the emergence and spread of disease arise from a complex interplay between disease ecology, economics, and human behavior. Lectures will provide an introduction to complementarities between economic and epidemiological approaches to understanding the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases. The course will cover topics such as drug-resistance in bacterial and parasitic infections, individual incentives to vaccinate, the role of information in the transmission of infectious diseases, and the evolution of social norms in healthcare practices.

Sample reading list:
Smith, D. L., Levin, S.A., Laxminarayan, R., "Strategic Interactions in multi-institution epidemics of
antibiotic resistance
Laxminarayan, R., Over, M. Smith, D., "Will a global subsidy of new antimalarials delay the
delay the emergence of resistance and save lives?
Health Affairs
See instructor for complete list

Reading/Writing assignments:
Students will read assignments from primary journals (approx. 30 pages per week). Students will be assigned a paper to present in class. During the second half of the course, students will present draft versions of their term paper in class.

Requirements/Grading:
Mid Term Exam - 25%
Take Home Final Exam - 30%
Other (See Instructor) - 45%

Other Requirements:
Open to Juniors and Seniors Only.

Prerequisites and Restrictions:
Calculus is required..

Schedule/Classroom assignment:

Class numberSectionTimeDaysRoomEnrollmentStatus
22663 L01 1:30 pm - 4:20 pm Th   Lewis Library   121   Enrolled:21 Limit:29
P01 10:00 am - 10:50 am W   Lewis Library   312   Enrolled:6 Limit:8
P02 3:30 pm - 4:20 pm W   Lewis Library   312   Enrolled:3 Limit:8
P03 12:30 pm - 1:20 pm T   Lewis Library   312   Enrolled:5 Limit:8
P04 2:30 pm - 3:20 pm T   Lewis Library   117   Enrolled:7 Limit:8