The Fund supports networks of state health policy decision makers to help identify, inspire, and inform policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund supports two state leadership programs for legislative and executive branch state government officials committed to improving population health.
The Fund identifies and shares policy ideas and analysis to advance state health leadership, strong primary care, and sustainable health care costs.
Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. And read the latest blogs from our thought leaders, including Fund President Christopher F. Koller.
The Fund publishes The Milbank Quarterly, as well as reports, issues briefs, and case studies on topics important to health policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is is a foundation that works to improve population health and health equity.
September 1979 (Volume 57)
Quarterly Article
Daniel M. Fox
Nov 5, 2024
Oct 30, 2024
Oct 23, 2024
Back to The Milbank Quarterly
During the first half of this century economists who studied health care were primarily concerned with reducing the financial burden of illness and making services more accessible. In recent decades, “scholarly research” by professional economists has become characterized by the exchange of social advocacy for scientific neutrality. Historical analysis of the assumptions underlying this shift-assumptions about the worth of resources and alternative ways to allocate resources-shows parallel changes in other social sciences and medicine. As commitment to reform is tempered by relativism, scientific inquiry may benefit at the cost of social justice.
Author(s): Daniel M. Fox
Download the article
Read on JSTOR
Volume 57, Issue 3 (pages 297–336) Published in 1979