Introduction

Both equity in health and equity in health care matter. Yet it is clear that recently in many countries policy has been rather neglectful of both of them. It is also the case that health economics has not contributed to equity policy as it might have. This book has drawn attention to these issues, globally and in some nation states, Brazil and Thailand in particular.

The authors in this book have sought to explain why equity has been failing and also why health economics has not made more of a contribution to equity policy. Yet more importantly, each in his or her own way has indicated how things might proceed better in future.

In this concluding chapter it is not the intent to summarize the contents of this book but rather to highlight what we as editors see as the key issues for improving health equity in the future. In particular, we present some concrete ideas on what health economists could be doing or doing better to promote equity in health and health systems. We have identified seven key messages.

Neo-liberalism is bad for our health and our health systems

Given that the extent and nature of economic development can have a dramatic impact on health status, health economists need to get more involved than they have in the past in macroeconomic policy debates. We not only have a right, but an obligation to engage in such debates.