Health of Nations

Towards a New Political Economy

Gavin Mooney

Why, despite vast resources being expended on health and health care, is there still so much ill health and premature death? Why do massive inequalities in health–both within and between countries–remain? In this devastating critique, internationally renowned health economist Gavin Mooney places the responsibility for these problems firmly at the door of neoliberalism.

’The Health of Nations’ analyses how power is exercised both in health-care systems and in society more generally. In doing so, it reveals how too many vested interests hinder efficient and equitable policies to promote healthy populations, while too little is done to address the social determinants of health. Instead, Mooney argues, health services and health policy more generally should be returned to the communities they serve.

Taking in a broad range of international case studies–from the UK to the US, South Africa to Cuba–this provocative book places issues of power and politics in health care systems centre stage, making a compelling case for the need to re-evaluate how we approach health care globally.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Why has the economics of health care policy gone wrong?
3. Why have broader policies affecting health been inadequate ?
4. The malaise of neoliberalism in health, health care and health economics
5. Neoliberalism, the global institutions and health
6. The US: the fear of ‘socialised’ health care
7. The UK NHS and the market
8. South Africa, neoliberalism and HIV/AIDS
9. Australia and victim blaming
10. A local community versus a corporation
11. The pharmaceutical industry
12. Neoliberalism and global warming
13. The solutions in theory: communitarian claims
14. The solutions in health care
15. The solutions on society more generally
16. Kerala: community participation
17. Cuba: health care and social determinants of
18. Venezuela: power to the community
19. Conclusion

About the Author

Gavin Mooney is based in Perth in Western Australia. He has worked as a health economist for 40 years and held academic positions in Scotland, Scandinavia, South Africa and Australia. In 2009 he was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town as ‘one of the founding fathers of health economics’. He has published widely with over 20 books to his name. Gavin has also acted as a consultant to WHO and to the OECD. Equity is a key research focus. In recent years he has become particularly interested in the impact of poverty and inequality on health and in turn of neo liberalism on power structures in society and in healthcare systems. Much of this is reflected in his Challenging Health Economics for OUP in 2009. He is also an advocate for using community values through citizens’ juries in health care (see www.gavinmooney.com).