Mara Violato

Mara is an Associate Professor at the Health Economics Research Centre in the University of Oxford. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy; an MSc in Economics from the University of Glasgow; a PhD in Economics from the University of Dundee; and a Doctorate in Economics from the University Milano-Bicocca, Italy.

Mara’s research contributes to two complementary aspects of the health economics discipline. The first aspect relates to investigations of economic-driven inequalities in health outcomes and healthcare utilisation, through the statistical and econometric analysis of large and complex observational survey data and linked healthcare administrative datasets, in order to inform clinical practice and wider policies to reduce inequitable differences in people’s health status. The second aspect refers to the economic evaluations (for example, cost-effectiveness analysis) of health treatments/healthcare delivery models alongside randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in order to identify those treatments/programmes that represent good value for money in a healthcare system which increasingly is under financial strain. The development of a more equitable and efficient healthcare sector is therefore an important perspective that underpins all of her economic research across several disease areas.

She is particularly interested in the economics of mental health, especially in children and young people, as well as the analysis of health-related quality of life in large multi-country surveys. In addition, she has recently developed an interest in behavioural economics. She is currently engaged in several projects in these areas, which are funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research and the EuroQol Foundation.