July 1995 Cross-country comparisons suggest that poor people tend to be in worse health than others, and that their health responds more to differences in public health spending. Are the poor less healthy? Does public health spending matter more to them? Bidani and Ravallion decompose aggregate health indicators using a random coefficients model in which the aggregates are regressed on the population distribution by subgroups, taking account of the statistical properties of the error term and allowing for other determinants of health status, including public health spending. This also allows them to test possible determinants of the variation in the underlying subgroup indicators. They implement the approach with data on health outcomes and poverty measures for 35 developing countries. Bidani and Ravallion find that poor people have appreciably worse health status on average than others--and that differences in public health spending tend to matter more to the poor. This is probably because the nonpoor are in a better position to buy private health care. This paper--a product of the Poverty and Human Resources Division, Policy Research Department--is part of a larger effort in the department to understand the interlinkage between poverty and human development.

Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services, in a wider range of ways than is sometimes recognized. These conclusions are based on case studies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, as well as on cross-national comparisons involving these cases and others.

A Sociological Approach to Health Determinants investigates how 'the social' works in determining health and health inequity. Taking a global perspective, the book shines a light on how experiences of health, illness and health care are shaped by a variety of complex social dynamics. Informed primarily by sociology, the book engages with the WHO's social determinants of health approach and draws on contributions from history, political economy and policy analysis to examine issues such as class, gender, ethnicity and indigeneity, and the impact they have on health. A Sociological Approach to Health Determinants is a comprehensive resource that provides a new perspective on the influence of social structures on health, and how our understanding of the social can ensure improved health outcomes for people all over the globe.

After thirty years of economic reform, China has reached a crossroads in its development process, and faces many challenges in the use of natural resources, the living environment, and the economic, social and political systems. The sustainability of China’s reform and development is even more salient in the face of the global financial crisis and economic recession. Taking the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as an iconic turning-point, the book explores key themes such as economic reform and sustainability, innovation and sustainability, globalisation and social development, and analyses the prospects for sustainable reform and development in Post-Olympic China. The book includes topics such as Chinese banking reforms; the issue of regional inequalities; energy and environmental challenges; industry development and corporate social responsibility, and democracy and media bloggers. With analysis written by experts from a wide range of disciplines, the book will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in China’s environment and sustainable development, economic and political reform, and international relations.

This publication examines how public spending on health care can be made more efficient and equitable in developing countries, focusing on strategic purchasing and contracting of services from non-governmental providers. It is divided into six sections under the headings of: the conceptual framework; how to make strategic purchasing pro-poor; purchasing health services; purchasing inputs; supply, demand and markets; legal and regulatory issues.

"An overview of the economic development of and policies intended to combat poverty around the world"--Provided by publisher.