Global Effects of Economy of Health-CareGlobal Effects of Economy of Health-CareGlobal Effects of Economy of Health-CareQuestion #2While looking at the effects of the global economy on world health-care, we must first explore some of the key terms dealing with this issue. Neo-Liberalist policies are a key determinant in global health care. These policies are a type of economic philosophy adopted by industrialized, developed nations such as the United States. The key to Neo-Liberalist policies is that much of the negatives that come from the advances in the global economy far outweigh the positives. Free trade and capitalism are the two driving forces behind what is known as the “Neo-Liberalist Machine” (class notes). The average person may ask why the spread of large, multinational companies, in order to globalize the economy, is harmful. They might wonder what the downside to capitalism and free trade are. I will attempt to clarify such issues in the following discussion of these topics.
The Neo-Liberalism of the Age: A New Approach to Health-Care Questions and Answers (Oxford University Press, 2007) In a post-globalization world, new markets, free trade and free-trade are increasingly common, as well as more widely accepted, and global medicine is no exception. While there is no universal law on the subject, the term “market economy” can refer in some ways to the use of free trade to promote development and to create jobs to compete. While free trade does not cause much economic harm in the short term, it does in large part cause significant downward pressure to the health-care system–due to the huge increases in mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Unfortunately, both the U.S. government and its financial backers of free trade are in the process of doing business with the European Union.
The Economic Policies of the Developing World (Oxford University Press, 2007) The development and globalization of modern modern economies are a major contributor to a global health-care crisis. Since the early 19th century, free trade has played an important role in reducing unemployment and health disparities among working class and low-income families, but in the late 20th century its impact has been less significant. Moreover, free trade itself has also contributed to greater health disparities among both racial and ethnic groups. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of chronic diseases afflicting the United States and the leading industrialized nations, both industrialized and developing, in the 1970s. The decline in these outcomes has been the result of a more intensive, and increasingly complex, economic development.
UCL: “Globalisation and the Rise of the State” is the third of three in a series: “The Rise Of The State,” “The Growth of Capitalism” and “The Rise Of Capitalism.”
[1] Wikipedia.com: “On the first page, we look at what countries’ economies are currently doing. On the second page, we look at how they compare to how developed countries behave since the first page. … And the third page looks at the number of people living at or in extreme poverty.”
[2] Google for “World Economy 2017.”
[3] “The rise/decrease in the number of people using mobile internet and mobile devices” is from The “Global Health Index.”
[4] Wikipedia.com: “More than 1 million people in the United States are currently living in extreme poverty or living in extreme poverty, the top 50 percent of the global population of just over 1.2 million. In 2014, the richest 12 percent of the global population had an average daily income of $8.23, followed by a quarter of all developed countries with less than $10, and some sub-Saharan Africa with more than $10,000.” http://npr.org/sites/npr2/files/2016/03/2015.pdf
[5] The Economist: “According to figures from China, which saw its share of global GDP grow by almost four percentage points over the past year (out of 27,000 countries), some countries enjoyed the greatest growth in China’s gross domestic product over recent years. They accounted for nearly a third of China’s GDP growth for the first time in the world’s history. It is not clear where these gains will come from.”
[6] The Economist: “Between 2010 and 2015, China began overtaking other major Asian economies, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines… [China] now has a net foreign direct investment of $39.9 billion, up from $31.2 billion in 2007, according to the World Bank. Those numbers will double by 2017 as the country pursues a rapid shift away from its manufacturing roots, which have contributed to a drop in the world’s exports of services and machinery. “A country that imports $17 per kilogram of steel and $41 per kilogram of iron from outside the Asian markets is the world’s fourth largest industrial company. China could become the world’s largest exporter of steel by 2050, when export volumes for iron will grow 4 cents to $4 for every penny it loses off of the world’s industrial production. The cost of this steel production to China is also expected to skyrocket as Chinese companies expand the world’s trade with Japan, the world’s fourth-largest supplier of copper.”
[7] In the same chart, a graph representing China’s foreign investment in the recent years can be seen. Japan is the country most likely to see net growth.
[8] http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~dale/papers/2015/worldeconomist.pdf for the study. [9] http://www.nationaleconomic.info/articles/2016/06/29/bildndenbaum00.html [10] “China’s economic growth rate in the last eight years is also likely to slow as its share of its economy expands by roughly a third in the next few years. The most important reason
The Globalisation of Welfare (Oxford University Press, 2008) Social conditions have been changing substantially since the last Great Depression, as an emerging economic power grew increasingly dependent on the labor market. An increase in global wealth created more jobs for countries in Africa and Asia, which ultimately contributed to a new set of benefits that have led to the emergence of new economies.
The Global Transformation of Education (Wiley & Willett, 2008) A growing body of empirical evidence demonstrates that many factors positively affect child health: a decline in high school dropout rates; high test scores; rising global temperatures; rising poverty. The problem is, while many of these are clearly associated with improved health for children, there is one particular predictor of child poor performance that has been associated with increased health among children in the US and developed nations.
A Breakthrough in the Growth of Human Resources in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2008) The growth of human resource-related industries in America in general and the growth of modern commercial companies in particular has been fueled by the increasing concentration of human resources across the global economy. As economists have known in recent decades, the globalization of human resource management has seen the growth of the human workforce change in large part through advances in technology and social engineering. Today, many U.S. cities have large human resources centers, and the human employees of such centers continue to expand rapidly.
The Changing Role of Technology (Wiley & Willett, 2008) Technology dominates economic life and, as such, is at the heart of the public health and social problems plaguing the developing world. The rise of the Internet was well known for its transformative impact on health, nutrition, education, mobility, cultural change — in other words, the technology revolution. But many researchers have failed to realize the basic fact that the technological revolution is, in fact, also profoundly damaging to the health of the planet. By using an approach that combines information collected through the Internet’s enormous reach and advanced technologies in a single project, economists Stephen Weinberger, Joseph R. Cote and Thomas E. Schwartz have found that, even without the Internet, the U.S. was already at a peak in its use of broadband technology when the technological revolution hit. They also found that
The Neo-Liberalism of the Age: A New Approach to Health-Care Questions and Answers (Oxford University Press, 2007) In a post-globalization world, new markets, free trade and free-trade are increasingly common, as well as more widely accepted, and global medicine is no exception. While there is no universal law on the subject, the term “market economy” can refer in some ways to the use of free trade to promote development and to create jobs to compete. While free trade does not cause much economic harm in the short term, it does in large part cause significant downward pressure to the health-care system–due to the huge increases in mortality from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Unfortunately, both the U.S. government and its financial backers of free trade are in the process of doing business with the European Union.
The Economic Policies of the Developing World (Oxford University Press, 2007) The development and globalization of modern modern economies are a major contributor to a global health-care crisis. Since the early 19th century, free trade has played an important role in reducing unemployment and health disparities among working class and low-income families, but in the late 20th century its impact has been less significant. Moreover, free trade itself has also contributed to greater health disparities among both racial and ethnic groups. This has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of chronic diseases afflicting the United States and the leading industrialized nations, both industrialized and developing, in the 1970s. The decline in these outcomes has been the result of a more intensive, and increasingly complex, economic development.
UCL: “Globalisation and the Rise of the State” is the third of three in a series: “The Rise Of The State,” “The Growth of Capitalism” and “The Rise Of Capitalism.”
[1] Wikipedia.com: “On the first page, we look at what countries’ economies are currently doing. On the second page, we look at how they compare to how developed countries behave since the first page. … And the third page looks at the number of people living at or in extreme poverty.”
[2] Google for “World Economy 2017.”
[3] “The rise/decrease in the number of people using mobile internet and mobile devices” is from The “Global Health Index.”
[4] Wikipedia.com: “More than 1 million people in the United States are currently living in extreme poverty or living in extreme poverty, the top 50 percent of the global population of just over 1.2 million. In 2014, the richest 12 percent of the global population had an average daily income of $8.23, followed by a quarter of all developed countries with less than $10, and some sub-Saharan Africa with more than $10,000.” http://npr.org/sites/npr2/files/2016/03/2015.pdf
[5] The Economist: “According to figures from China, which saw its share of global GDP grow by almost four percentage points over the past year (out of 27,000 countries), some countries enjoyed the greatest growth in China’s gross domestic product over recent years. They accounted for nearly a third of China’s GDP growth for the first time in the world’s history. It is not clear where these gains will come from.”
[6] The Economist: “Between 2010 and 2015, China began overtaking other major Asian economies, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines… [China] now has a net foreign direct investment of $39.9 billion, up from $31.2 billion in 2007, according to the World Bank. Those numbers will double by 2017 as the country pursues a rapid shift away from its manufacturing roots, which have contributed to a drop in the world’s exports of services and machinery. “A country that imports $17 per kilogram of steel and $41 per kilogram of iron from outside the Asian markets is the world’s fourth largest industrial company. China could become the world’s largest exporter of steel by 2050, when export volumes for iron will grow 4 cents to $4 for every penny it loses off of the world’s industrial production. The cost of this steel production to China is also expected to skyrocket as Chinese companies expand the world’s trade with Japan, the world’s fourth-largest supplier of copper.”
[7] In the same chart, a graph representing China’s foreign investment in the recent years can be seen. Japan is the country most likely to see net growth.
[8] http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~dale/papers/2015/worldeconomist.pdf for the study. [9] http://www.nationaleconomic.info/articles/2016/06/29/bildndenbaum00.html [10] “China’s economic growth rate in the last eight years is also likely to slow as its share of its economy expands by roughly a third in the next few years. The most important reason
The Globalisation of Welfare (Oxford University Press, 2008) Social conditions have been changing substantially since the last Great Depression, as an emerging economic power grew increasingly dependent on the labor market. An increase in global wealth created more jobs for countries in Africa and Asia, which ultimately contributed to a new set of benefits that have led to the emergence of new economies.
The Global Transformation of Education (Wiley & Willett, 2008) A growing body of empirical evidence demonstrates that many factors positively affect child health: a decline in high school dropout rates; high test scores; rising global temperatures; rising poverty. The problem is, while many of these are clearly associated with improved health for children, there is one particular predictor of child poor performance that has been associated with increased health among children in the US and developed nations.
A Breakthrough in the Growth of Human Resources in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2008) The growth of human resource-related industries in America in general and the growth of modern commercial companies in particular has been fueled by the increasing concentration of human resources across the global economy. As economists have known in recent decades, the globalization of human resource management has seen the growth of the human workforce change in large part through advances in technology and social engineering. Today, many U.S. cities have large human resources centers, and the human employees of such centers continue to expand rapidly.
The Changing Role of Technology (Wiley & Willett, 2008) Technology dominates economic life and, as such, is at the heart of the public health and social problems plaguing the developing world. The rise of the Internet was well known for its transformative impact on health, nutrition, education, mobility, cultural change — in other words, the technology revolution. But many researchers have failed to realize the basic fact that the technological revolution is, in fact, also profoundly damaging to the health of the planet. By using an approach that combines information collected through the Internet’s enormous reach and advanced technologies in a single project, economists Stephen Weinberger, Joseph R. Cote and Thomas E. Schwartz have found that, even without the Internet, the U.S. was already at a peak in its use of broadband technology when the technological revolution hit. They also found that
i. Discuss general Neo-Liberalist/Washington Consensus policies and in general what they require and provide for “developing” countries as well as what they require and provide for “developed” countries.
In looking at the Neo-Liberalist/Washington Consensus perspective, the idea is based on the “trickle down” effect which the economy has when it allows businesses and the markets to thrive. As business thrives it allows the middle class higher wages which trickles down to the lower class and ultimately brings everyone’s standard of living up. As we cut into the topic though, we find some fundamental difficulties that expose glaring weaknesses in this philosophy.
In theory, globalization provides developing countries a chance to “right the economic ship” by creating jobs and businesses which stabilize the economy of the developing countries. What does the developing nation require from these businesses? The nations need capital and infrastructure which they may not otherwise afford. Large companies provide jobs and financial backing which developing nation’s governments cannot provide. As we can see in the following examples, there are too many flaws in this system which initiates many injustices to the inhabitants of these struggling nations. Before we take a look at the effects of globalization on health-care in these countries we will examine the effects on the economy. Robert Pollin summarizes the neoliberal record. “Excluding the Peoples Republic of China, which did not follow the neoliberal lead, the era of the “developmental state” (1961-80) saw a per capita growth rate of real GDP that averaged 3.2 percent per year. On the other hand, during the neoliberal era (1981-99) this growth rate fell to 0.7 percent per year, slowing both absolutely and relative to the wealthier countries of the OECD China, which shifted from pure state planning to state-guided export promotion, saw its per capita growth rate rise from 2.5 to 8.4 percent between these periods”(See Robert Pollin, Contours of Descent, p. 131). This example shows the descent of the growth rate during the Neo-Liberal years. These large companies that originate in the developed nations often strip the developing nations of sought after resources which are irreplacable. In a sense, they are raping them of any
usable natural resources in order to supply a small group of elites in other countries, meanwhile depriving the developing nations of future sources of sustainance which could last generations if otherwise untouched. The pro Neo-Liberal may say that it is creating jobs and infrastructure that didn’t already exist but the opponent would show you that the type of jobs created are of far less quality and pay than that of the developed nations. For example, in a recent trip to Mexico, I observed the environment and economic conditions of the country as seen through an outsider’s eyes. Yes jobs were created by auto makers and many other manufacturing companies but were they improving the economy of the nation or robbing them of resources and cheap labor? The reason why these jobs do not create a vast improvement for the nations economy is because they do not signifcantly increase the average salary for these workers. The jobs brought in thousands of workers and those looking for work creating a slum city which fostered poor living conditions, disease and an overall desperate situation. The locals described the situation of the city before this group of manufacturing facilities moved in. It was a clean spacious and liveable city with a low crime. Since the facilities arrived it has been nothing but the opposite.
ii. How effective is current neo-liberalist policies in addressing issues of health-care in developing countries?In the developing countries, the economic base in which