TY - JOUR
T1 - The Impact of Fiscal Policies on the Socioeconomic Determinants of Health
AU - Mosquera, Isabel
AU - González-Rábago, Yolanda
AU - Bacigalupe, Amaia
AU - Suhrcke, Marc
PY - 2017/4
Y1 - 2017/4
N2 - There has been considerable recent debate around the alleged impact of discretionary fiscal policies - especially austerity policies - on health and health inequalities. Assuming that most of the impact will have to run via the effect of fiscal policies on socioeconomic determinants of health (SDH), it is of interest to gain a further understanding of the relationship between fiscal policies and SDH. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the recent evidence on the impact of discretionary fiscal policies on key SDH, i.e. income, poverty, education, and employment, in high income OECD countries. We find that there are no simple answers as to how fiscal policy affects those determinants of health. The effects of contractionary and expansionary fiscal policies on the analyzed SDH vary considerably across countries and will largely depend on the pre-crisis situation. Contractionary fiscal policies seem to have increased poverty, while their impact on income inequality will be influenced by the composition of the implemented measures. More empirical research trying to directly link fiscal policies to health outcomes, while taking into account of some of the mechanisms encountered here, would be worthwhile.
AB - There has been considerable recent debate around the alleged impact of discretionary fiscal policies - especially austerity policies - on health and health inequalities. Assuming that most of the impact will have to run via the effect of fiscal policies on socioeconomic determinants of health (SDH), it is of interest to gain a further understanding of the relationship between fiscal policies and SDH. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the recent evidence on the impact of discretionary fiscal policies on key SDH, i.e. income, poverty, education, and employment, in high income OECD countries. We find that there are no simple answers as to how fiscal policy affects those determinants of health. The effects of contractionary and expansionary fiscal policies on the analyzed SDH vary considerably across countries and will largely depend on the pre-crisis situation. Contractionary fiscal policies seem to have increased poverty, while their impact on income inequality will be influenced by the composition of the implemented measures. More empirical research trying to directly link fiscal policies to health outcomes, while taking into account of some of the mechanisms encountered here, would be worthwhile.
KW - Global Health
KW - Health Policy
KW - Healthcare Disparities
KW - Humans
KW - Policy Making
KW - Poverty
KW - Social Determinants of Health
KW - Socioeconomic Factors
U2 - 10.1177/0020731416681230
DO - 10.1177/0020731416681230
M3 - Review article
C2 - 27913757
SN - 0020-7314
VL - 47
SP - 189
EP - 206
JO - International Journal of Health Services
JF - International Journal of Health Services
IS - 2
ER -