Increased wealth does not lead to improved health

So the wealthier we get as a society, the healthier we’ll all be. Right? Not according to the latest research from Cambridge University. There may well be a few articles in the national press on this tomorrow, so I will look out and post up any links I can find. Should be useful for those focusing on inequality, health.

Research by a University of Cambridge-led team of social scientists, examined data from 22 countries to test the widely-accepted principle that stimulating economic growth will automatically improve public health levels, particularly in the developing world.

Drawing on almost 50 years’ worth of data, they identified cases where the health of a population had worsened, even as a country’s national income was on the rise. These anomalies occurred, the study suggests, because underlying issues of poverty and inequality had been left unresolved by policy-makers more concerned with overall economic growth.

Dr Larry King of the University’s Department of Sociology commented:

“Our study found that wealth is not enough. If policy-makers want to improve health, they need to look more closely at the impact that they are having on individual living standards as well.The current economic crisis has led to great concern among politicians, central banks and international financial organisations for restoring high rates of growth. According to these results, focusing on growth rather than poverty reduction and reducing inequality may lead to substantial loss of life.”