Health and wealth: the argument for investment Wellington, 27 th August 2014 Martin McKee London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies Twitter: @martinmckee (with thanks to Marc Suhrcke)
“Beyond its intrinsic value, improved health contributes to social well-being through its impact on economic development, competitiveness and productivity. High- performing health systems contribute to economic development and health”
EU Health Strategy “ Together for Health: A Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013” • Fundamental principles for EC action on health: 1) A strategy based on shared health values 2) "Health is the greatest wealth“ 3) Health in all policies (HIAP) 4) Strengthening the EU's voice in global health
“.....the time is ripe for our measurement system to shift emphasis from measuring economic production to measuring people’s well-being.” 4
... but what is the evidence behind the Health is Wealth story? • The economic consequences of health depend on: – What precisely we mean by economic consequences /costs, and – How we measure them • There is a strong economic case for investment in health but it is nuanced – The better we are able to understand and communicate that nuance, the more credibly we can present our case
Three sets of relationships
The easy bits 1. Wealthy people (and countries) can make healthier choices 2. Greater wealth provides more money to spend on health systems (if you chose to do so) 1
Wealth health Health Wealth
Does better health increase wealth and/or reduce future health care costs? ?
Some basics: How can we conceptualise “economic costs and benefits”? 1) Health care costs 2) Productivity costs a) Microeconomic costs b) Macroeconomic costs 3) Costs of losing the value of years of life 4) Public-policy relevant and irrelevant costs
1) Health care costs • Does improved health reduce health care costs? (or, put another way) • Does ill health increase health care costs?)
Direct costs of cardiovascular disease (EU15, 2002) 450 20 18 400 Cost in % of health exp. 16 350 Cost per capita (€) 14 300 12 250 10 200 8 150 6 100 4 50 2 0 0 Source: Petersen et al (2005)
Additional per capita cost associated with obesity, ageing, smoking, and drinking (US, 1998) Problem drinking Smoking (current) Obese �������������������� ��������������������
However… • Those with unhealthy lives may cost more each year, but they live for fewer years • What is the cost of the extra years lived by those who are healthy?
How improved health could affect lifetime health care costs? ������������������������������������������������ � �������� ����������������������������������������������� � �������� ��������������������� ��"��� ������������������ �������� � �������� ������������������� ������� ��������������� �������������� � �������� ������������� � !��������������� � ��
Return on investment (US data) • Investment of US$10 per person per year for ‘proven community-based disease prevention programs (on) physical activity, nutrition, and (reducing tobacco use can lead to reductions of: – type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure by 5% in 1 to 2 years; – heart disease, kidney disease and stroke by 5% in 5 years; and – some forms of cancer, COPD and arthritis by 2.5% in 10 to 20 years. • This yields net savings of almost US$18 annually, a return on investment of 6.2 for every US$1 invested. Source: Trust for America’s Health. Prevention for a healthier America: investments in disease prevention yield significant savings, stronger communities. 2009
Does a healthy lifestyle save health care expenditures? Data from The Netherlands �������� #���� ���$��� ������ ������%�� ��� ����� ����&'�(�����) *+,+ -.,. -/,+ �%�� ���� ������������������� 0&12�''' 0&-'�''' 0&&'�''' ������� ���� ����� ���� ������������� &' ��������� 0*�11. 01�/2+ ��������������� Source: van Baal et al 2008
Fortunately, saving health care costs is not a sensible criterion for judging the true economic value of health!
2) Productivity costs a) Microeconomic b) Macroeconomic More relevant economic cost categories… � …but challenging to assess empirically � ( � causality?)
Productivity costs: microeconomic ������� ������������ ������������� ������ ������� ��������� ������
Commission on Macroeconomics and Health • Better health promotes economic growth in poor countries
High and middle income countries are different Physical work is much less important in generating wealth
The impact of health on productivity (proxied by wages and earnings) • US (1967): People in poor health earned 6.2% less than those in good health – Differential effects • Black males more likely to drop out of labour force or cut hours • White males more likely to cut hourly rates • US (1974): people at age around 50 earn 20- 30% less if certain diseases in past 10 years – Effects vary according to disease • US (1967-77): older people earn 20% less if illness in past 10 years
The impact of health on wages and earnings • UK (2004): People in excellent (vs less than excellent) health increases hourly wages by ~ £1 • Sweden (2000): Women with work absence due to own health problem have significantly lower wages, while for child’s illness have no such loss. • US (2004): Impact of serious illness in men greatest when in 40s, but for women if in 30s • US (1986): Episode of mental illness reduces wages by 24% and effect persists for at least 15 years
The impact of health on labour supply • Ireland (2003): Those with chronic illness or disability “severely” hampering daily activities less likely to work: – Men 61% less – Women 52% less • Germany (1998): Suffering a “health shock” reduced probability of working in subsequent years – 5.3% less in next year – 17.5% less after 2 years
The impact of health on labour supply • Early retirement – Those in poor health tend to retire 1-3 years earlier – Long term health problem beginning at 55 reduced age at retirement by 2.8 years – Heart attack or stroke affecting daily activities after age 50 increased probability of early retirement by 42%
Impact of health on education • Human capital theory predicts that more educated individuals will be more productive, and obtain higher earnings • Children with better health will have less absenteeism and lower dropout rate • This is confirmed in low income countries – Deworming, iron supplementation, supplementary nutrition all increase attendance • Less work in high income countries
Research from high income countries • Very good or better health in childhood associated with a third of a year more in school • Major Illness before age 21 decreased education on average by 1.4 years. • negative effect on educational outcomes of smoking or poor nutrition greater than that of alcohol consumption or drug use. • Signifi cant positive impact of physical exercise on academic performance. • Obesity and overweight negatively associated with educational outcomes. • Sleeping disorders hinder academic performance. • Very little research on effect of anxiety and depression • Asthma does not seem to affect school performance.
The impact of health on labour supply of carers • Men caring for sick wives likely to leave labour force • Women caring for sick husbands more likely to join labour force 30
Impact of health on savings • Theory predicts that improved health will increase savings (which are needed for investment in economy) • Individuals have greater probability of reaching retirement and so will save for this • This is confirmed in low income countries • Insufficient evidence from high income countries
A quantitative example: Health & retirement in Europe • European Community Household panel, eight waves (1994-2001), nine EU countries (older workers) • Dependent variable: retirement (self-reported as such and all departures from labour force) • Explanatory variables: – Health stock (composite measure indicating health relative to someone of same age) – Health shock (acute deterioration in health) – Income / wealth, education, demographics (gender, cohabit, children at home)
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