This was how it all began …
Ingemar Ståhl, Professor of Economics at Lund University, had recruited two doctoral students to his Lund Department: Bengt Jönsson and Björn Lindgren. Both in due course submitted dissertations dealing with health-economic problems of methodology – Bengt Jönsson wrote about economic calculations for public health services and Björn Lindgren estimated the Cost of Illness in Sweden over a ten-year period.
In order to give researchers in the field of health economics a platform from which they could continue their work, Institutet för socialmedicinsk ekonomi, was established. This institution was closed down when IHE was created in 1979. Two organisations for pharmaceutical companies owned and controlled operations at that point: among others LIF, The Swedish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry.
In the 1980s, the government appointed Pharmaceuticals Commission came to stress the importance of the extended role played by Apoteksbolaget, the National Corporation of Swedish Pharmacies, as an active participant in the ongoing endeavour to improve public health. A discussion with the owners about passing on ownership of IHE to Apoteksbolaget began and from 1988 Apoteksbolaget took over the ownership.
Since 2010 IHE – The Swedish Insitutet for Health Economics (IHE Holding AB) is owned by IHE’s personnel, IHE’s Managing Director and Bengt Jönssons stiftelse för hälsoekonomisk forskning.