- A total of 40 minutes (including 5 minutes brake) is allotted to each paper.
- Papers will be taken as read.
- Authors will not read, summarise or even introduce their papers.
- Discussants will open the proceedings and will have about 15 minutes to briefly summarise the contents of the paper and secondly critically discuss methods, theory and conclusions.
- Authors may then - and not before then - reply to clear up misunderstandings or make clarifications.
- General discussion will then take place moderated by the chairman. Authors and discussants have the same (nearly!) rights to participate as anyone else.
- Discussants and Author, in that order, will have the final say (e.g. 5 minutes each at the end) if so desired.
Discussants
Please bear in mind that the purpose of the meeting is not to score points, cheap or otherwise, at the expense of others but:
- to be constructively helpful to authors
- to explore links between health economics and other areas of economics, and to improve the empirical and theoretical use of health economics
- to map out an agenda, if possible, which may guide discussions from the floor
Chairs
Please ensure the procedural rules are adhered to - their purpose is to minimise unproductive use of time and maximise participation by all. Do not let anyone monopolise the talk (unless no one else wants to speak). The discussion is not a question and answer session, so authors should not respond to every point as it is made, unless there is not much participation from others. Authors will get their chance to reply at the end.
A little conspiracy with discussants (and even authors) beforehand may not come amiss in trying to structure the discussion. If you have prepared a good structure, and speakers from the floor raise points at an inappropriate time (given that structure), do not hesitate to tell them so. Do not be afraid to end a session early if it seems that all that will be said has been said (but do not start on the next paper before it is time - people may wish to change rooms).