Rate My Professor Francesco Paolucci

Professor Francesco Paolucci is Professor of Health Economics at the University of Newcastle's Newcastle Business School in the College of Human and Social Futures, where he also serves as Associate Dean International and Program Convenor for the Health Economics, Management, and Policy postgraduate suite. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Laurea in Economia Politica from the University of Bologna. Paolucci is also Associate Professor at the University of Bologna's Department of Sociology and Business Law. His extensive career includes positions as Chief Advisor to the Chilean Minister of Health leading the design of the Health Insurance Act (2018), Head of Health Administration, Policy & Leadership programs at Murdoch University, Reader in Health Policy and Economics at Northumbria University, Fellow in Health Economics at the Australian National University, and Researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He founded and coordinates the Value in Health Economics and Policy (VheP) group at the University of Newcastle and represents Australia in the Risk Adjustment Network.

Paolucci's research specializations encompass health economics, health insurance design and financing, healthcare system reforms, risk equalization, chronic care models, and policy responses to challenges like COVID-19. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed works, including books 'Health care financing and insurance: Options for design' (2011) and 'Risk-equalisation in health insurance markets: Models and international experience' (2011), as well as chapters on health plan payments in Australia and Chile (2018), and recent articles such as 'Telehealth evolution and policy response in Australia: Insights from the COVID-19 pandemic' (2025), 'Democracy, Trust, and Political Orientation: Disentangling Mechanisms Shaping Individuals’ Vaccine Attitudes' (2025), and 'Understanding vaccine acceptance in Australia' (2026). His influence extends to editorial roles as Associate Editor for Health Policy and Technology and Frontiers in Public Health Policy, and contributions to global policy through consultancies and committees, including Italy's National Health Technical Committee. Major awards include Outstanding Business Engagement Research from Murdoch University (2017), 40under40 Business News award (2016), and Ones to Watch from Mena Insurance Review (2013).