"Provides tools for analyzing societal issues."

August studied the Master's Programme in Economics and currently works as a health economic analyst at Macanda. He says that his education is the cornerstone of his daily work and permeates most aspects of his professional life.

What do you work with?

I work as a health economic analyst at Macanda, a consulting startup that assists pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Primarily we help out with various types of analytical and strategic issues related to the stage after their product has been clinically proven to be effective and safe to use and thus obtained regulatory approval for sale. For example, we calculate the cost-effectiveness of the product in order to provide a basis for decisions on whether it should be subsidized and used in the Nordic countries.

What do you do at work?

My day can look in a variety of ways, but a large part of our business can be summarized in three steps: 1) Evaluate our clients' products in relation to existing treatments in terms of both effectiveness and cost. 2) Map out what is required for our clients' products to be subsidized, as well as present proposals for solutions to various analytical and strategic issues. 3) Compile the material into a document that is sent to the decision-makers who decide whether the treatment should be subsidized and used in the respective Nordic countries.

How did you end up where you are today?

During my studies in economics, I realized that health economics is the field I find most exciting, which led me to choose to take several courses in the field. Then, for my master's thesis, I developed a survey method for TLV, an authority that makes decisions about subsidizing drugs in Sweden. With my method, it is possible to measure individuals' values regarding the trade-off between patients' disease severity and the cost-effectiveness of treatments in priority decisions in healthcare.

After graduation, Erik Grönqvist, a health economist at the department, who was then in the starting blocks to found a health economics research group, asked if I wanted to implement my method in a national study. I chose to take on the project and when it started to come to an end, I was convinced that I wanted to continue working to enable patients to have access to new cost-effective treatments.

How has your education in economics helped you?

Economics and econometrics have strengthened my logical intuition and helped me to approach and model different types of questions and relationships in a systematic way. In addition, my studies in game theory have helped me understand how actors act and interact strategically.

Have you used your knowledge in economics in your daily work?

Health economic methodology, based on economics and econometrics, is a cornerstone in my work and permeates most of what I do at work.

Why should one study economics?

It opens the door to exciting roles in many different areas by providing a tool for analyzing societal issues in a quantitative way.