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Abstract
Pithy captions such like “Wealthier is healthier” and “Healthy bodies and thick wallets” are invoked by some economists to explain the inter-relationship between the level of health and economic growth. This applies on a societal level as well. The question this paper attempts to look into what exactly is the inter-relationship between the level of health and the economic growth of a society.
The Health Effect on Economic Growth
“Healthier workers with good nutrition are more productive.” suggested the economic historian Robert Fogel. When countries are in the early stages of development， access to food， clean water， and sanitation has a huge effect on productivity. As nutrition improved， so did the workers’ productivity. Taking urban Brazil as an example， urban men with less access to nutrition are less likely to participate in the labor force （Strauss， John and Duncan 1998）.
The presence or absence of communicable diseases is also an indicator of health level in the society. Also， communicable diseases have an “external cost” ? infected individuals affect the health and therefore productivity of others. The data on HIV prevalence and GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa also provides another illustration of the effect of health on economic growth. Although there are many factors behind HIV prevalence， lack of resources is undoubtedly a major determinant. Hence， not only do health levels affect GDP， but economic growth also influences health.
The Economic Growth Effect on Health
On the other hand， health performance is strongly dependent on the economy. With the increase of national income in South Africa， the spending in the health system and the implementation of policies has improved significantly as well.For example， the recent implementation of HIV policy in South Africa， which prevents the transmission of HIV from mother to child， also has an impact on infant mortality. The reduced fertility rate allows parents to concentrate on fewer children and thus the children would obtain more resourcesof nutrition， achieve a good health and have better cognitive development. Lower fertility also means that population growth is slowed so advances in GDP are not swamped.
Other Factors
Currently， there is not necessarily a perfect correlation between GDP and health. There are developing countries with high GDP and low life expectancy， such as Kazakhstan. The relationship between national income and life expectancy becomes less significant once GDP or health reaches a certain level. It could be well illustrated in the Preston Curve. When life expectancy is low， small increases in GDP per capita have a big impact. Once life expectancy reaches 70 or more years， the marginal effect of economic growth on life expectancy becomes small. The major factors affecting life expectancy are non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer， and advances in medical equipment and research for new medicines. Surprisingly， the countries with a very high level of GDP per capita may also face significant health problems and have relatively low life expectancy including the United States because of the factors such as high infant mortality rate and obesity （Sherter， 2014; National Conference of State Legislatures， 2014）. Therefore， the question of whether or not a society that is wealthier is also healthier is complex and varies over time. Health policies in China
In China， improvements in health have accompanied the rapid increase in China’s GDP， and China’s life expectancy reached 76 years three years ago. Significant increases in GDP led to increases in health spending， better nutrition and the elimination of many infectious diseases. But these improvements were also due to specific policies ?provision of basic health care， and China’s one-child policy which meant China avoided some of the problems of the demographic transition. China’s life expectancy is high given its GDP per capita level. Investment in health has increased GDP， and this will make further health improvements. Nowadays， what kind of health policy is needed in China？
In the future， the Chinese government should invest more in medical research to cure chronic diseases and focus on prevention and early diagnosis. The prevalence of diabetes among adults in China was 9.7% in 2007-2008， and the majority of patients were undiagnosed and untreated （Eggleston 2012）. The economic consequences of chronic diseases in China are serious. Supporting prevention and the management of chronic diseases is still very significant.
Conclusion
In summary， this paper tried to be suggestive of the casual links， taking a closer look at the accepted theory by examining the inter-relationship between health and economic growth in different countries. Since the marginal effect of GDP growth on health declines in some countries where life expectancy has reached a certain level， the causal links between economic growth and health become less significant. Also， the interaction between them can vary from one context to another. Policy-makers in all countries need to be well-informed about the many links between health and economic welfare.
Work Cited
Strauss， John and Duncan Thomas， “Health， Nutrition， and Economic Development，” Journal of EconomicLiterature， 36（2）：766?817， 1998
“Newversion of Preston curve： Life Expectancy versus GDP PerCapita”， 2018 （https：//www.researchgate.net/figure/New-version-of-Preston-curve-Life-Expectancy-versus-GDP-Per-Capita_fig1_283725978）
Alain Sherter，“What’s behind the high rate of infant deaths in the U.S.”， MoneyWatch October 3， 2014， 5：00
“Obesity Statistics in the United States”， National Conference of State Legislatures， 9/4/2014（http：//www.ncsl.org/research/health/obesity-statistics-in-the-united-states.aspx）
Karen Eggleston， “Health Care for 1.3 Billion： An Overview of China’s Health System”， January 9， 2012
張可
年龄：16
城市：南通
就读学校：上海 WLSA Academy
年级：G11
未来申请专业目标：经济学、数学
当我将鼠标按下保存键时，我长舒了一口气，这篇长达千字的经济学论文终于在无数次打磨加工下，得到了满意的研究成果。诺贝尔奖得主福格尔关于营养与美国经济发展的论文给我留下了很深的印象，也奠定了我的论文方向。我很感谢这个研究机会，它教会了我如何从零基础到不断积累，如何用HDI衡量国家发展水平、看OECD国家的教育与经济不平等……电脑文件夹里一份份word文档、Excel表格见证了我的这次成长。我也学会了很多统计与数据处理方面的知识。
Pithy captions such like “Wealthier is healthier” and “Healthy bodies and thick wallets” are invoked by some economists to explain the inter-relationship between the level of health and economic growth. This applies on a societal level as well. The question this paper attempts to look into what exactly is the inter-relationship between the level of health and the economic growth of a society.
The Health Effect on Economic Growth
“Healthier workers with good nutrition are more productive.” suggested the economic historian Robert Fogel. When countries are in the early stages of development， access to food， clean water， and sanitation has a huge effect on productivity. As nutrition improved， so did the workers’ productivity. Taking urban Brazil as an example， urban men with less access to nutrition are less likely to participate in the labor force （Strauss， John and Duncan 1998）.
The presence or absence of communicable diseases is also an indicator of health level in the society. Also， communicable diseases have an “external cost” ? infected individuals affect the health and therefore productivity of others. The data on HIV prevalence and GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa also provides another illustration of the effect of health on economic growth. Although there are many factors behind HIV prevalence， lack of resources is undoubtedly a major determinant. Hence， not only do health levels affect GDP， but economic growth also influences health.
The Economic Growth Effect on Health
On the other hand， health performance is strongly dependent on the economy. With the increase of national income in South Africa， the spending in the health system and the implementation of policies has improved significantly as well.For example， the recent implementation of HIV policy in South Africa， which prevents the transmission of HIV from mother to child， also has an impact on infant mortality. The reduced fertility rate allows parents to concentrate on fewer children and thus the children would obtain more resourcesof nutrition， achieve a good health and have better cognitive development. Lower fertility also means that population growth is slowed so advances in GDP are not swamped.
Other Factors
Currently， there is not necessarily a perfect correlation between GDP and health. There are developing countries with high GDP and low life expectancy， such as Kazakhstan. The relationship between national income and life expectancy becomes less significant once GDP or health reaches a certain level. It could be well illustrated in the Preston Curve. When life expectancy is low， small increases in GDP per capita have a big impact. Once life expectancy reaches 70 or more years， the marginal effect of economic growth on life expectancy becomes small. The major factors affecting life expectancy are non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer， and advances in medical equipment and research for new medicines. Surprisingly， the countries with a very high level of GDP per capita may also face significant health problems and have relatively low life expectancy including the United States because of the factors such as high infant mortality rate and obesity （Sherter， 2014; National Conference of State Legislatures， 2014）. Therefore， the question of whether or not a society that is wealthier is also healthier is complex and varies over time. Health policies in China
In China， improvements in health have accompanied the rapid increase in China’s GDP， and China’s life expectancy reached 76 years three years ago. Significant increases in GDP led to increases in health spending， better nutrition and the elimination of many infectious diseases. But these improvements were also due to specific policies ?provision of basic health care， and China’s one-child policy which meant China avoided some of the problems of the demographic transition. China’s life expectancy is high given its GDP per capita level. Investment in health has increased GDP， and this will make further health improvements. Nowadays， what kind of health policy is needed in China？
In the future， the Chinese government should invest more in medical research to cure chronic diseases and focus on prevention and early diagnosis. The prevalence of diabetes among adults in China was 9.7% in 2007-2008， and the majority of patients were undiagnosed and untreated （Eggleston 2012）. The economic consequences of chronic diseases in China are serious. Supporting prevention and the management of chronic diseases is still very significant.
Conclusion
In summary， this paper tried to be suggestive of the casual links， taking a closer look at the accepted theory by examining the inter-relationship between health and economic growth in different countries. Since the marginal effect of GDP growth on health declines in some countries where life expectancy has reached a certain level， the causal links between economic growth and health become less significant. Also， the interaction between them can vary from one context to another. Policy-makers in all countries need to be well-informed about the many links between health and economic welfare.
Work Cited
Strauss， John and Duncan Thomas， “Health， Nutrition， and Economic Development，” Journal of EconomicLiterature， 36（2）：766?817， 1998
“Newversion of Preston curve： Life Expectancy versus GDP PerCapita”， 2018 （https：//www.researchgate.net/figure/New-version-of-Preston-curve-Life-Expectancy-versus-GDP-Per-Capita_fig1_283725978）
Alain Sherter，“What’s behind the high rate of infant deaths in the U.S.”， MoneyWatch October 3， 2014， 5：00
“Obesity Statistics in the United States”， National Conference of State Legislatures， 9/4/2014（http：//www.ncsl.org/research/health/obesity-statistics-in-the-united-states.aspx）
Karen Eggleston， “Health Care for 1.3 Billion： An Overview of China’s Health System”， January 9， 2012
張可
年龄：16
城市：南通
就读学校：上海 WLSA Academy
年级：G11
未来申请专业目标：经济学、数学
当我将鼠标按下保存键时，我长舒了一口气，这篇长达千字的经济学论文终于在无数次打磨加工下，得到了满意的研究成果。诺贝尔奖得主福格尔关于营养与美国经济发展的论文给我留下了很深的印象，也奠定了我的论文方向。我很感谢这个研究机会，它教会了我如何从零基础到不断积累，如何用HDI衡量国家发展水平、看OECD国家的教育与经济不平等……电脑文件夹里一份份word文档、Excel表格见证了我的这次成长。我也学会了很多统计与数据处理方面的知识。