Thematic center
Health Center
Featured research
Digital trackers: Is healthcare getting smarter?
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TSE Reflect
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Health
How should we care for elderly parents?
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TSE Reflect
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Health
Do taxes on junk food work?
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TSE Reflect
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Health
Latest news
White paper “Antibiotic Therapy: Everyone’s Concern”
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Corporate Relations
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Health
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Partnership research
Fight against AMR: the role of diagnostics and the impact of air pollution
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Corporate Relations
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Research
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Health
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Partnership research
Toulouse will be at the forefront of cancer research
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Corporate Relations
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TSE Research
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Health
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Partnership research
In the press
Trump vs. Big Pharma: A Dangerous Game
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Op-ed
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Economics
Health Care: Political Courage for Fundamental Reform
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Op-ed
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Social and Behavioral Sciences
Events
Past
4th Health Economics Conference
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Conference
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Date From 16 to 17 June 2026
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Place Auditorium 3 JJ Laffont - Auditorium 4
Details
Cross-perspectives
My research aims to address many fundamental issues about pharmaceutical research, which is very important for healthcare.
Over the past few decades, there has been a lot of progress in medicine, with gene and cell therapies, and all of these are extremely promising for healthcare, for cancer, and for many, many diseases. We have immunotherapies, we have a lot of novel technologies.
Unfortunately, these technologies are very expensive, and they are challenging the healthcare sector. They are challenging healthcare financing. So, we need to organize the way innovation is financed.
There is always a trade-off between static and dynamic efficiency. We want to maximize access to drugs and minimize costs. But, on the other hand, we know that, for dynamic efficiency and for future innovation, we need to protect innovation. We need to reward innovators.
There are several examples of the impact of our research. Some of our research results have been used by policymakers to make better-informed decisions in the United States and in Europe.
More recently, we have been working on policies that could help finance investment and R&D in the area of antibiotics. We know that we need more novel antibiotics. There are a lot of future risks due to antibiotic resistance. There is a lack of investment, so this is a typical market failure.
One of our studies shows that one solution to correct this market failure is to decouple revenue from sales. One instrument that could do that is the use of transferable exclusivity extensions.
We have been working on this, and recently, after we presented our work to the European Parliament and different institutions, the European Commission proposed using this type of mechanism in the new pharmaceutical legislation.
Our comparative advantage as academic economists is really in quantifying trade-offs.
One of the big reasons that we've had a lot of innovation over the past 50 years is that insurance has provided a market that is able to pay for very expensive treatments and generate the profits necessary to stimulate private-sector innovation.
Public financing of health insurance interacts in a very intricate way with healthcare markets, and we face important decisions regarding how to design public insurance because, ultimately, these policy decisions end up having consequences both for patients’ access to healthcare and for providers delivering healthcare.
Beyond that, from a dynamic perspective, they also end up having consequences for the types of treatments that we have available.
Public budgets are limited. We have to make difficult decisions between financing pensions and reducing the generosity of health insurance systems.
The consequences of reducing or improving the generosity of a healthcare system end up having fundamental effects on inequality, particularly in terms of health.
In the United States, there are stark disparities between rich and poor. The richest individual in the U.S. lives, on average, 15 years longer than the poorest individual.
Yet, if we compare the average person today with the average person 50 years ago, we have made tremendous progress in life expectancy.
Public financing of health insurance does not necessarily generate a budget deficit. In fact, it can contribute to fiscal sustainability.
So, what my research tries to do is quantify these trade-offs, enabling policymakers to think about how to make these difficult choices when dealing with limited government budgets, while taking into account both the fiscal sustainability of public investments and society’s preferences regarding the redistributive potential of public transfers.
Seen on LinkedIn
Purpose & ambition
As demographic, technological, and economic transformations reshape healthcare systems, and as health crises and pandemic risks continue to highlight their vulnerabilities, questions surrounding the organization, financing, and regulation of healthcare have become more central than ever. In this context, TSE seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of these challenges and, through its research, to support evidence-based decision-making by public and private stakeholders, with the aim of improving health policies in France and around the world.
In this context, the TSE Health Center aims to:
- Bring together and promote TSE’s scientific expertise in health economics
- Foster collaboration with partners around targeted policy and research challenges
- Structure and encourage researchers’ contributions to public debate
- Attract and train the next generation of health economists
For more than fifteen years, TSE economists have explored a wide range of topics, including health, innovation, ageing, pharmaceutical regulation, as well as issues related to food and nutrition. Launched in 2021, the TSE Health Center builds on this long-standing expertise and has further strengthened TSE’s position as a leading institution in health economics research in France, across Europe, and internationally.
By combining the academic expertise of its researchers with the support and knowledge of its partners, the TSE Health Center fosters diverse and innovative research projects that draw on different fields of economics and promote multidisciplinary approaches involving economists, physicians, pharmacists, psychologists, and biologists. Through this approach, its researchers actively contribute to informing decision-makers and enriching public debate on major health policy challenges.
The research conducted by TSE brings an objective perspective to public debates and, through the TSE Health Center, helps address key healthcare challenges through research carried out in close collaboration with partners.
Research areas
Over the past years, our researchers’ expertise in the field of health has grown and diversified. The four thematic areas listed below reflect the main research fields in which they are engaged.
Objectives: Our researchers analyze regulatory frameworks and innovation mechanisms to identify an optimal balance between incentives to develop new drugs, access to care, and the sustainability of health care spending. They also study the impact of regulations on economic performance and well-being, and formulate recommendations to improve the efficiency of health care systems in a complex environment involving public and private stakeholders.
Program Director: Pierre Dubois
Objectives: Our researchers develop cutting-edge economic analyses to better understand the mechanisms that drive innovation in healthcare and the challenges of privacy protection, combining theoretical approaches with empirical and experimental validation.
Program Director: Philippe De Donder
Objectives: Our researchers analyze the complex relationships among stakeholders in the healthcare system -patients, insurers, healthcare providers, and the pharmaceutical industry-to better understand how these systems are organized and function. to better understand how the system is organized and operates. They also study the methods used to finance expenditures related to aging and long-term care.
Program Director: Jean-Marie Lozachmeur
Objectives: Our researchers analyze the determinants of dietary behavior, taking into account socioeconomic, environmental, and price factors, in order to assess the impact of nutrition policies on health and well-being, as well as the responses of businesses and markets.
Program Director: Céline Bonnet
Activities
The TSE Health Center promotes, showcases, and disseminates research conducted at TSE through a range of scientific and outreach activities aimed at both the academic community and decision-makers.
- A dedicated resource hub: We provide a central platform showcasing TSE’s activities in the field of health, including academic experts, research outputs, events, and news related to our research programs and partnerships.
- Events for researchers and decision-makers: We organize scientific events that bring together the academic community, as well as targeted events specifically designed for public and private decision-makers to shed light on key health challenges and their implications for public policy and strategic decision-making.
- Research dissemination and outreach activities: We develop a variety of formats to make research findings accessible to a broader audience. These initiatives include the publication of research reports, thematic newsletters, podcasts, and other editorial content.
20+
Researchers
130
Number of publications in scientific journals since the creation of the Center
5
Research Initiatives
The TSE Health Center brings together several research initiatives dedicated on health issues, as well as research projects on these topics, selected through publicly funded research programs.
Research initiatives
Supported by one or more partners, these research initiatives encourage the development of research projects addressing issues of common interest to academics and industry stakeholders.
- Cancer, innovation and hospital, IUCT - Oncopole
- Incentives and innovation in health treatment pathways, Clinique Pasteur
- Joint "diagnostic and therapeutic" model to fight antibimicrobial resistance, bioMérieux
- Health and pharmaceutical economics, GIE GERS
- Value of medicines, LEEM
VIEW ALL OUR RESEARCH INITIATIVES
Publicly funded research projects
Several TSE researchers currently benefit from grants or research funding related to the health economy, awarded through major national and European public research funding programs.
European Research Council (ERC) Grants
- Pierre Dubois, EHCI - Economics of Health Care Markets and Innovation, 2024-2029
French National Research Agency (ANR) Grants
- Angelique Acquatella, HEREDIST - Health Investments, Employment and Redistribution
- Céline Bonnet, DynAPol - Food Consumption Dynamics and Sustainability Policies: The Role of Supply, Preferences and Constraints, 2024-2027
- Yassine Lefouili et Anna d'Annunzio, TEPREME - Telemedicine and precision medicine: the role of data in healthcare innovation, 2021-2026
- Anouch Missirian, CACTEE - Agricultural consolidation: technical, economic and environmental consequences, 2024-2027
- Céline Nauges, FairGreenFood - Assurer la transition vers un système alimentaire plus soutenable et plus juste
- Jonathan Stieglitz, C-HEALTH - Understanding socio-ecological variation in menstrual cycles to advance female health, 2023-2026
Investments for the Future Programme
- Therapeutic, Economic and Diagnostic Approaches to Antimicrobial Resistance (ARPEGE Project), Bpifrance - Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir (PIA) - Associated Partner, 2021-2026.
Horizon 2020 projects
- Céline Bonnet, FOODCoST - Food Costing and Internalisation of Externalities for System Transition, Project 101060481, 2021-2026
- Zohra Bouamra, BrightSpace - Designing a Roadmap for Effective and Sustainable Strategies for Assessing and Addressing, Project 101060075, 2022-2027
Other projects
- James Hammitt, IDEX project, AMEP– Advancing Methods for Evaluating Environmental/health policy and wealth
- Zohra Bouamra, coordinator of RMT FILARMONI - Economics of Food Supply Chains (French Pork Institute). this project runs from January 2020 to December 2026. Research theme: Modelling production, consumption and markets under imperfect competition to analyse product differentiation.
The TSE Health Center highlights all research conducted at TSE in the field of health, with a particular focus on work that has a strong impact on economic stakeholders. Emerging from all of our research programs, this work draws on a wide range of disciplines, including economics, mathematics and statistics, as well as the social and behavioral sciences.
Research in accessible formats
Discover research findings presented in accessible and engaging formats: article summaries, op-eds by our researchers published in the media, and multimedia content (videos, podcasts, etc.).
Most recent publications
Determinants of ultra-processed food purchases: Evidence of between- and within-household variation in France
The Effects of Sin Taxes and Advertising Restrictions in a Dynamic Equilibrium
Pharmaceuticals and Digital Health: Evidence from Data-driven Insights on the Insulin Market
Pharmaceutical Advertising in Dynamic Equilibrium
Pharmaceutical Regulation and Incentives for Innovation in an International Perspective
Strategic Submissions: An Analysis of Supplemental Drug Approvals
The design of insurance contracts for home versus nursing home long-term care
Family Bargaining and the Gender Gap in Informal Care
Economic Incentives to Develop and to Use Diagnostic Tests: A Litterature Review
Pharmaceutical Regulation and Incentives for Innovation in an International Perspective
Nonlinear reimbursement rules for preventive and curative medical care
Fair Innings: An Empirical Test
The TSE Health Center supports the organization of conferences and workshops that contribute to the production and dissemination of research in the field of health. These events are designed for a wide audience: some are primarily aimed at the academic community, while others foster dialogue with professionals working in companies, healthcare organizations, and public institutions across the health ecosystem.
Annual Health Economics Conference
The conference highlights cutting-edge scientific research and features presentations by internationally renowned scholars. It also includes panel discussions bringing together academics and leading experts from the sector (both institutional and industry representatives).
Events for decision-makers
Researchers from the TSE Health Center regularly contribute to events for decision-makers organized as part of research partnerships. They also participate in major events in the health sector, hosted by leading institutions or key players in the health ecosystem.
All events
Past
4th Health Economics Conference
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Conference
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Date From 16 to 17 June 2026
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Place Auditorium 3 JJ Laffont - Auditorium 4
Details
Past
3rd Health Economics Conference
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Conference
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Date From 18 to 19 June 2025
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Place Auditorium A3 et Auditorium A4
Details
Past
DNA and the Post-Neolithic Rise of Patrilineal Systems in Humans
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Seminar
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IAST General Seminar
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Date 4 March 2025
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Place Auditorium 4 (First floor - TSE Building)
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Speaker or organiser Raphaëlle Chaix
Details
Past
2nd Health Economics Conference
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Conference
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Date From 19 to 20 June 2024
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Place Auditorium A3 JJ Laffont and Auditorium A4
Details
Past
Symposium | Economics of AMR R&D Incentives: The Cost of Inaction and Action
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Conference
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Date 14 May 2024
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Place Paris
Details
Past
23rd European Health Economics Workshop 2024
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Conference
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Date From 25 to 26 April 2024
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Place TBS Education
Details
Past
1st CEPR Conference in Health Economics
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Conference
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Date From 19 to 20 June 2023
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Place TSE Building
Details
Past
Workshop: Innovation, regulation and organization in healthcare
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Conference
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Date 27 June 2022
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Place Paris
Details
Past
Common Good Summit: Chapter II
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Conference
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Date From 19 to 20 May 2022
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Place TSE Building and online
Details
We warmly thank the companies and public institutions that partner with our research initiatives in the field of health, who are also committed to supporting the TSE Health Center. Through their support, our partners actively contribute to TSE’s scientific output and play a key role in promoting this research as well as in developing the Center’s activities.
Our shared ambition with TSE is to foster innovative thinking on health economics issues and make the resulting insights available to the public.
We also express our gratitude to the public institutions that support the work of our researchers in the field of health, particularly through major funding programs.
Join us
Become a partner and help foster dialogue between researchers and decision-makers on the major challenges associated with health issues. Together, we can strengthen the relevance and impact of research.
Pierre Dubois
Director
Eve Séjalon
Head of Research Partnerships and Centers
Cécile Miglos
Research Partnerships Project Manager
