Abstract
The question we are asking in this chapter is whether it is possible to draw a parallel between the causes and spread of the economic crisis, the ways it has been tackled and the foreseeable changes in the state of health, in particular the growing instability and a progressively growing gap between rich and poor. The cyclical fluctuations of the world economy were, until a few decades ago, limited by a protection system such as the Bretton Woods Agreement. Thanks to that agreement, the developed economies enjoyed a period of stability, contained inflation and sustained growth. Protection from cyclical crises had been made possible by the international rules being in harmony with the capacity of response by the states. Today, it is not only finance that is globalised, but so are the production of consumer goods, lifestyles and environmental and health risks. It would therefore be appropriate to create an effective system of global protection, and not dismantling it, as has been done with Bretton Woods. Compared to the period of big public health successes such as the eradication of smallpox, the current situation is characterised by a weaker role of international institutions and a very fragmented landscape, with a growing role of charities and public–private interactions.
The chapter discusses the impact of economic globalisation on wealth and health of the nations, with uncertain conclusions. Even giving for granted that globalisation fosters the overall production of wealth, growth has not been translated by redistribution, and conversely, globalisation has had concrete disadvantages. One common denominator of many policies in favour of globalisation and liberalisation (aka the Washington consensus ) is containment of social expenditure and the promotion of private consumptions (in health as well): what is known as the commodification of essential needs .
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Notes
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See www.gapminder.org. The website includes a great deal of interesting material. In particular on health v. per capita income. It can be accessed directly at http://tinyurl.com/ogrs3dp
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Vineis, P. (2017). The Economic Crisis. In: Health Without Borders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52446-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52446-7_6
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