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Investing in Health: A Contribution to the Achievement of the Lisbon Agenda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2010

Martin McKee  and
Marc Suhrcke
Martin McKee
Affiliation:
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Marc Suhrcke
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In the Lisbon Agenda, the European Union’s member States have committed themselves to invest in becoming the most competitive economy in the world. In this paper we review the evidence on whether investment in health should be part of this process. Concentrating on microeconomic studies, we show how better health can increase productivity and labour supply. In addition, there is an indirect positive effect through the investment that healthy people make their own education. Governments pursuing sustainable economic growth – broadly defined – should include the health of their population along with education and physical infrastructure in a balanced investment strategy.

Type
Focus: Health in Europe
Information
European Review , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 9 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Academia Europaea 2010

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