Research Centers

HERG - Health Economics Research Group

The Health Economics Research Group (HERG) is part of the Sociology Research Center of the Department of Sociology at the University of Miami.  HERG conducts research on a variety of health and human resource-related topics, such as the economics of substance abuse treatment and prevention, HIV/AIDS, criminal justice programs, workplace policies and programs, cancer treatment and prevention, health system changes, and mental health.

The majority of research conducted by the HERG is supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).  Some recent funded projects include " Alcohol Use and Social Capital" (NIAAA, Grant No. R03 AA016371), " Economic Consequences of Alcohol Use Disorders” (NIAAA, Grant No. R01 AA015695), "Costs and Benefits of Alcohol Services and Interventions" (NIAAA, Grant No. R01 AA13167), "Economic Evaluation of Substance Abuse Treatment in Criminal Justice Settings" (NIDA, Grant No. K01 DA013962), "Utilizing Clinical and Financial Instruments for Economic Evaluation" (NIDA, Grant No. 3P50 DA07705), "Costs and Benefits of Prison-Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Drug Abusing Offenders" (RWJF, Grant No. 041070), "Economic Evaluation Methods: Development and Applications" (NIDA, Grant No. R01 DA11506), "Economic Aspects of Alcohol Use and Abuse" (NIAAA, Grant No. K01 AA13608), "Economic Evaluation of Adolescent Treatment Services" (NIDA, Grant No. R01 DA13298), "Long Term Outcomes of Adolescents in Drug Treatment" (NIDA, Grant No. R01 DA15412), and "Economic Evaluation Methods: Development and Application" (NIDA, Grant No. 1 R01 DA018645-01A1).  Many of these projects involve multidisciplinary collaborations with government officials, program directors, clinicians, or scientists from the University of Miami and other research and academic institutions.

To ensure effective and timely dissemination of their research findings, HERG members regularly deliver presentations at professional conferences (e.g., American Economic Association, American Public Health Association, International Health Economics Association, Western Economic Association, Association for Health Services Research) and frequently publish papers in peer-reviewed professional journals (e.g., Journal of Health Economics, American Journal of Public Health, Contemporary Economic Policy, Health Economics, Medical Care, Social Science and Medicine, Labour Economics, Southern Economic Journal, Health Services Research, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Evaluation and Program Planning).

Sociology Research Center
Flipse Building, 1st Floor
5665 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Coral Gables, FL 33146-0719

 HERG Website