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Patterson AC. Is Economic Growth Good for Population Health? A Critical Review. CANADIAN STUDIES IN POPULATION 2023; 50:1. [PMID: 36938118 PMCID: PMC10009865 DOI: 10.1007/s42650-023-00072-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
Abstract
A large multidisciplinary literature discusses the relationship between economic growth and population health. The idea that economic growth is good for societies has inspired extensive academic debate, but conclusions have been mixed. To help shed light on the subject, this paper focuses on opportunities for consensus in this large literature. Much scholarship finds that the health-growth relationship varies according to (1) which aspect of "health" is under consideration, (2) shape (e.g., positive linear or logarithmic), (3) issues of timing (e.g., growth over the short or long term), (4) a focus on health inequalities as opposed to population averages, and (5) multivariable relationships with additional factors. After reflecting upon these findings, I propose that economic growth promotes health in some respects, for some countries, and in conjunction with other life-supporting priorities, but does not by itself improve population health generally speaking. I then argue there is already wide, interdisciplinary consensus to support this stance. Moreover, policies focusing exclusively on economic growth threaten harm to both population health and growth, which is to say that political dynamics are also implicated. Yet multivariable approaches can help clarify the bigger picture of how growth relates to health. For moving this literature forward, the best opportunities may involve the simultaneous analysis of multiple factors. The recognition of consensus around these issues would be welcome, and timely. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42650-023-00072-y.
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Min Y, Zhao X, Hsing AW, Zhu S. Cohort Profile: WELL living laboratory in China (WELL-China). Int J Epidemiol 2021; 50:1432-1443. [PMID: 33712826 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyaa283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Min
- Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xueyin Zhao
- Chronic Disease Research Institute, The Children's Hospital, and National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ann W Hsing
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.,Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Shankuan Zhu
- Chronic Disease Research Institute, The Children's Hospital, and National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, School of Public Health, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
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Jakovljevic M, Sugahara T, Timofeyev Y, Rancic N. Predictors of (in)efficiencies of Healthcare Expenditure Among the Leading Asian Economies - Comparison of OECD and Non-OECD Nations. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2020; 13:2261-2280. [PMID: 33117004 PMCID: PMC7585857 DOI: 10.2147/rmhp.s266386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of healthcare spending among the leading Asian economies. Methods We have selected a total of nine Asian nations, based on the strength of their economic output and long-term real GDP growth rates. The OECD members included Japan and the Republic of Korea, while the seven non-OECD nations were China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. Healthcare systems efficiency was analyzed over the period 1996–2017. To assess the effectiveness of healthcare expenditure of each group of countries, the two-way fixed effects model (country- and year effects) was used. Results Quality of governance and current health expenditure determine healthcare system performance. Population density and urbanization are positively associated with a healthy life expectancy in the non-OECD Asian countries. In this group, unsafe water drinking has a statistically negative effect on healthy life expectancy. Interestingly, only per capita consumption of carbohydrates is significantly linked with healthy life expectancy. In these non-OECD Asian countries, unsafe water drinking and per capita carbon dioxide emissions increase infant mortality. There is a strong negative association between GDP per capita and infant mortality in both sub-samples, although its impact is far larger in the OECD group. In Japan and South Korea, unemployment is negatively associated with infant mortality. Conclusion Japan outperforms other countries from the sample in major healthcare performance indicators, while South Korea is ranked second. The only exception is per capita carbon dioxide emissions, which have maximal values in the Republic of Korea and Japan. Non-OECD nations’ outcomes were led by China, as the largest economy. This group was characterized with substantial improvement in efficiency of health spending since the middle of the 1990s. Yet, progress was noted with remarkable heterogeneity within the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihajlo Jakovljevic
- Department of Global Health Economics and Policy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia.,Institute of Comparative Economics, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan.,N.A.Semashko Department of Public Health and Healthcare, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), Moscow, Russia
| | - Takuma Sugahara
- Institute of Comparative Economics, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuriy Timofeyev
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
| | - Nemanja Rancic
- Centre for Clinical Pharmacology, Military Medical Academy, Belgrade, Serbia.,Faculty of Medicine of the Military Medical Academy, University of Defence, Belgrade, Serbia
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Ramraj C, Shahidi FV, Darity W, Kawachi I, Zuberi D, Siddiqi A. Equally inequitable? A cross-national comparative study of racial health inequalities in the United States and Canada. Soc Sci Med 2016; 161:19-26. [PMID: 27239704 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Revised: 03/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Prior research suggests that racial inequalities in health vary in magnitude across societies. This paper uses the largest nationally representative samples available to compare racial inequalities in health in the United States and Canada. Data were obtained from ten waves of the National Health Interview Survey (n = 162,271,885) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 19,906,131) from 2000 to 2010. We estimated crude and adjusted odds ratios, and risk differences across racial groups for a range of health outcomes in each country. Patterns of racial health inequalities differed across the United States and Canada. After adjusting for covariates, black-white and Hispanic-white inequalities were relatively larger in the United States, while aboriginal-white inequalities were larger in Canada. In both countries, socioeconomic factors did not explain inequalities across racial groups to the same extent. In conclusion, while racial inequalities in health exist in both the United States and Canada, the magnitudes of these inequalities as well as the racial groups affected by them, differ considerably across the two countries. This suggests that the relationship between race and health varies as a function of the societal context in which it operates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chantel Ramraj
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Faraz Vahid Shahidi
- Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - William Darity
- Sanford School of Public Policy and Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
| | - Ichiro Kawachi
- Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States.
| | - Daniyal Zuberi
- Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Arjumand Siddiqi
- Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
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Narain JP, Shah NK. Communicable diseases in South-East Asia: call for papers. Bull World Health Organ 2008; 86:660. [PMID: 18797636 DOI: 10.2471/blt.08.057711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
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Bezruchka S, Namekata T, Sistrom MG. Interplay of politics and law to promote health: improving economic equality and health: the case of postwar Japan. Am J Public Health 2008; 98:589-94. [PMID: 18309129 DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2007.116012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The health situation in Japan after World War II was extremely poor. However, in less than 35 years the country's life expectancy was the highest in the world. Japan's continuing health gains are linked to policies established at the end of World War II by the Allied occupation force that established a democratic government. The Confucian principles that existed in Japan long before the occupation but were preempted during the war years were reestablished after the war, facilitating subsequent health improvements. Japan's good health status today is not primarily the result of individual health behaviors or the country's health care system; rather, it is the result of the continuing economic equality that is the legacy of dismantling the prewar hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Bezruchka
- Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Box 357660, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7660, USA.
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Chen YY, Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Acevedo-Garcia D, Lee YJ. Can social factors explain sex differences in insomnia? Findings from a national survey in Taiwan. J Epidemiol Community Health 2005; 59:488-94. [PMID: 15911645 PMCID: PMC1757060 DOI: 10.1136/jech.2004.020511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE To examine sociological explanations for the higher level of insomnia in women, including social roles and socioeconomic status (SES). DESIGN Cross sectional survey research SETTING Taiwanese 2001 "social trend survey" PARTICIPANTS A nationally representative sample of 39,588 citizens aged 15 years or older living in Taiwan. MAIN RESULTS On average, women scored 1.25 points higher than men on the insomnia inventory (p<0.001) but after controlling for social roles, the sex discrepancy in insomnia decreased slightly. SES did not, however, explain women's higher levels of insomnia. Subscale analysis showed an association between the role of homemaker and increased night time sleep disturbance and decreased daytime sequelae of poor sleep while higher educational attainment was related only to more severe daytime sequelae. CONCLUSION The sex discrepancy in insomnia narrowed slightly after taking social role factors into consideration but was not explained by SES. The persistent sex gap in insomnia warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying-Yeh Chen
- Taipei City Psychiatric Centre, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan.
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Franco A, Gil D, Alvarez-Dardet C. State size as measured in terms of public spending and world health, 1990-2000. GACETA SANITARIA 2005; 19:186-92. [PMID: 15960951 DOI: 10.1157/13075950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between state size (measured in terms of public spending) and public health indicators in a sample of countries representing all regions of the world and from 1990-2000. METHODS An ecological study was performed using data on Central Government Spending (CGS) and per capita Gross National Product (GNP) obtained from the International Monetary Fund, and on life expectancy, maternal, and infant mortality, provided by the World Health Organization. A multiple linear regression model was fitted to estimate the effect of CGS on health, which also took into consideration per capita GNP and geographical region. RESULTS CGS varied little over the study period, with convergence around an average of 28%, but within a relatively wide range (7.80-53.0%); the countries with the strongest economies (according to per capita GNP) had the highest levels of CGS. The influence of this factor was particularly relevant for the infant mortality rate (r = 0.40; beta = -1.327; EE = 0.237; t = -5.590; p < 0.001). Per capita GNP and geographic location were also associated with variations in health; health indicators tended to be worse for poorer countries in Africa and Asia. In the adjusted model, CGS was statistically significant with regard to infant and maternal mortality rates. CONCLUSION The study suggests that state size (in terms of public spending) has an important influence upon health and particularly upon mortality. Although it is important to bear in mind the limitations of this study and the reduced time window used, these results should be taken into consideration in the current political and epidemiological debate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Franco
- Observatorio de Políticas Públicas y Salud, Universidad de Antioquia, Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública, Colombia.
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