Good health and economic development are interdependent. Economically developed countries can provide quality healthcare, while high levels of poverty negatively affect citizens’ health and productivity. GDP also affects citizens’ ability to access healthcare.
The relationship between macroeconomics and health can be seen from the angle that good health is the natural consequence of economic development or from the perspective that economic development depends on good health. At first, a country with an economically progressive economy can afford to institute quality health care, build the best hospitals, and train or hire the best doctors. In the second case, the economy will grow or develop at a faster rate if its citizens are healthy.
An example of the relationship between macroeconomics and health can be seen in the case of a country with a strong economy. The government of that country will be able to provide the best health care structure that will ensure optimal health for its citizens and consequently its workforce. This type of structure may include the provision of subsidized health care, such as the type found in the United States in the form of Medicaid. This type of health care program is only possible in economically developed countries capable of sustaining these programs.
Another way in which macroeconomics and health are related is the relationship of the level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country and the way in which this affects the ability of citizens to provide quality health care. Countries with a high and sustained GDP are economically developed, and citizens can generally provide better health care than those in countries with a low GDP. These economies also have a support structure in the form of health insurance, which citizens can purchase to ensure they can afford more expensive medical procedures.
Macroeconomics and health are linked by the effect that high levels of poverty have on the citizens of an economically backward nation. The government of that country will not be able to provide any kind of welfare to the citizens. Indeed, these governments may not be able to provide basic amenities such as clean water, good hospitals and a well-regulated food industry. This lack affects the health of citizens in a negative way, which leads to a reduction in productivity. This is something that people in economically developed countries often take for granted.
The lack of good health facilities decreases the workforce due to incidents such as increased infant and maternal mortality and death from various diseases. Some of these diseases can be curable like malaria or preventable like cholera. Illnesses like this can take the lives of people in these countries due to poverty, which makes it difficult to access necessary medicines and other health care.
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