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The Incidental Economist

The Incidental Economist is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The Incidental Economist rather than just read about it. In short: The Incidental Economist is a blog focused on health economics and policy. It was founded in 2009 by Austin Frakt, a health economist at Boston University, who has since been joined by Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, as co-Editor-in-Chief.

Key takeaways

  • The Incidental Economist belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect The Incidental Economist to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of The Incidental Economist from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Incidental Economist is a blog focused on health economics and policy. It was founded in 2009 by Austin Frakt, a health economist at Boston University, who has since been joined by Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, as co-Editor-in-Chief. The site features posts by the two as well as a number of contributing writers, who are primarily academics based across the United States. The authors often synthesize academic literature as it might relate to contemporary health policy issues. The blog gained prominence in 2009–10 when it was often cited by journalists, such as Ezra Klein, Kevin Drum, Jonathan Cohn and Andrew Sullivan, who were covering the health care reform process that would eventually culminate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The blog remains one of the most widely cited health policy blogs on the Internet.

Regular contributors Austin Frakt (founder, co-Editor-in-Chief): health economist at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, associate professor at Boston University, contributor to The New York Times' The Upshot Aaron Carroll (co-Editor-in-Chief): professor of pediatrics and dean for research mentoring at Indiana University School of Medicine, contributor to The New York Times' The Upshot Adrianna McIntyre (Managing Editor): Ph.D student at Harvard University 2016 MPH/MPP dual-degree graduate at the University of Michigan Kevin Outterson: Professor of law and public health at Boston University Harold Pollack: professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago Bill Gardner: child psychologist, professor of epidemiology, chair of child and adolescent psychiatry, and health services researcher at the University of Ottawa Nicholas Bagley: professor of law at the University of Michigan

References

External links The Incidental Economist

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Incidental Economist

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Incidental Economist claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The Incidental Economist before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The Incidental Economist ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The Incidental Economist

In research
The Incidental Economist appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses The Incidental Economist in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
The Incidental Economist is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2009 establishments in the United States, American health websites, Economics websites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for The Incidental Economist outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study The Incidental Economist in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what The Incidental Economist means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain The Incidental Economist out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The Incidental Economist in simple terms?

The Incidental Economist is a blog focused on health economics and policy. It was founded in 2009 by Austin Frakt, a health economist at Boston University, who has since been joined by Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician at Indiana University School of Medicine, as co-Editor-in-Chief.

Why does The Incidental Economist matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The Incidental Economist?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The Incidental Economist.

Tags

  • 2009 establishments in the United States
  • American health websites
  • Economics websites
  • Evidence-based medicine
  • Health economics
  • Health policy
  • Internet properties established in 2009
  • Science blogs
  • Website stubs

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