Differences in healthcare

Economic Development – Differences in Healthcare Between Countries

1. Why Healthcare Is Central to Economic Development

• Good health raises the quantity and quality of labour – fewer sick days, longer working lives and higher productivity.
• Healthy children attend school more regularly, acquire skills and become more productive adults (human capital).
• Lower out‑of‑pocket medical spending reduces the risk of health‑related poverty and frees income for other needs.
• Countries with better health outcomes generally enjoy higher real GDP per head and faster economic growth.

2. Living Standards (Syllabus 5.1)

Key Indicators

• Real GDP per head – total output adjusted for inflation and divided by population.
• Human Development Index (HDI) – composite of life expectancy, education and income.
• Life expectancy at birth – average years a newborn is expected to live.
• Infant mortality rate – deaths of infants under one year per 1,000 live births.

How Real GDP per head is calculated (AO1)

Real GDP = Nominal GDP ÷ (GDP‑deflator/100). The deflator removes the effect of price changes, giving a measure of the volume of goods and services produced. Dividing by population yields the per‑head figure used to compare living standards.

Advantages / Disadvantages of Each Indicator

Comparative Living‑Standard Data (2023)

3. Poverty (Syllabus 5.2)

Definitions

• Absolute poverty – living on less than a set minimum (e.g., US$1.90 a day).
• Relative poverty – living significantly below the average standard of a society (e.g., 60 % of median household income).

Major Causes (syllabus‑complete list)

• Low national income and limited fiscal capacity.
• Unemployment or under‑employment, often linked to low wages.
• Illness and poor health, which reduce earning capacity.
• Age‑related vulnerability (very young or very old).
• Geographic isolation and weak infrastructure (poor transport, limited market access).
• Inadequate education and skill levels.

Policy Responses (Cambridge‑style wording)

• Growth‑oriented policies – investment in health, education, transport and other infrastructure to raise national income.
• Improved education – free or subsidised primary/secondary schooling, adult‑learning programmes.
• Improved healthcare provision – free primary care, vaccination campaigns, disease‑control programmes.
• More generous state benefits – unemployment benefit, child allowance, old‑age pensions.
• Progressive taxation – higher rates on higher incomes to fund welfare.
• National minimum wage – guarantees a basic income from work.
• Direct poverty‑reduction programmes – cash transfers, food subsidies, school‑feeding schemes.

Evaluation (AO3)

Cash‑transfer programmes can quickly lift households out of absolute poverty and improve nutrition and school attendance, but they place a heavy fiscal burden on the state and may create dependency if not paired with skills‑training. Conversely, investment in health and education raises long‑term productivity but takes time to translate into lower poverty rates.

Poverty Indicators by Country (2023)

4. Population (Syllabus 5.3)

Key Concepts

• Crude birth rate (CBR) – births per 1,000 population per year.
• Crude death rate (CDR) – deaths per 1,000 population per year.
• Natural increase rate – CBR – CDR.
• Net migration rate – (immigrants – emigrants) per 1,000.
• Population growth rate – natural increase + net migration.
• Age structure – proportion of children (0‑14), working‑age adults (15‑64) and elderly (65+).
• Optimum population – the size at which a country can maximise per‑capita income without overstretching resources.

Population Data (2023 estimates)

5. Inequality (Syllabus 5.4)

Measuring Inequality

• Gini coefficient – 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality).
• Income‑quintile shares, poverty‑gap ratio, and health‑outcome gaps (e.g., rural vs. urban infant mortality).

Inequality Indicators (2023)

6. Environment (Syllabus 5.5)

Environmental quality directly influences health outcomes and therefore economic development.

• Air pollution (PM2.5) – fine particulate matter linked to respiratory disease and lower life expectancy.
• Access to safe drinking water – reduces diarrhoeal disease and infant mortality.
• CO₂ emissions per capita – a proxy for industrialisation; high levels can signal environmental degradation that erodes health.

Environmental & Health Indicators (2023)

7. Integrated Comparative Table (Healthcare + Development Indicators)