The Importance of Health for the Economy and Other Policy Areas By Björn Ekman, PhD Lund University, Sweden Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Rostock-Warnemünde August 30, 2015

Outline Health and Economics Poor health and the economy Policies for better health

Health and Economics LEB (years) GDP/pop. (USD)

Overall good health in the Baltic Sea Region, but there are clear differences Health (OECD Health at a Glance 2014) Baltic Sea countries Life-expectancy at birth (LEB; years) Diabetes prevalence; % of total population Smoking prevalence, % daily adult smokers Alcohol consumption among adults, liters per capita Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Latvia Lithuania Norway Poland Russia Sweden

Example - Diabetes spending (% of total health spending)

Economics is good for health… Richer countries/people – Eat more nutritious food – Live in better houses and cleaner surroundings – Can afford better education – Live and work in less risky environments

Health is good for the economy More healthy countries/people – Do better in school – Have higher productivity But, it is a very complicated dynamic relationship between health and economics…

Health to Wealth and back…

Health Policy: The Economic Case Generally, a very strong economic case for investing in health! Health promotion and disease prevention make for sound economic policies Particularly strong arguments for targeting intervention to children, and high-risk groups and areas However, …

…Requires cross-sectoral action Education Road traffic safety Natural and Physical Environmental Work place Social and elderly care  Ministries of Health only plays (small) part

And cross-country action… Antimicrobial resistance Disease control Harmonization of regulations for public health? Sharing knowledge and information

An example of a (VERY) cost-effective policy intervention Tobacco tax, %

Policy Objectives Reducing costs not enough Health has a value in itself Health is part of broader goal of human wellbeing But, Who is responsible for what…? – People – Providers – Politicians

Thank you!

Issues Clear evidence that health is important for economic progress Some good evidence of efficacious, effective, and cost-effective (efficient) policies to promote health and prevent disease However, evidence-base is not perfect!