Healthy people, prosperous lives: The first interim report of the IPPR Commission on Health and Prosperity

Article

The UK is getting poorer and sicker, at the same time as the country is facing a challenging economic outlook. After rapid progress on life expectancy in the 20th century, the UK has rising rates of death and impairment – including higher prevalence of long-term conditions and greater rates of multimorbidity.

Good health has its own value – but this paper tests its relationship with prosperity. Good health is vital to an enjoyable and meaningful life, free from avoidable pain, anxiety and, in the worst cases, premature death. But it is also a crucial determinant of our economic prospects, both at an individual and a national level.

This has been poorly accounted for by policymakers. In that context, this paper sets out to quantify whether better health could provide an answer to some of our most deep-rooted economic challenges and what policies could help ‘price in’ its value across all decisionmaking.

Related items

  1. Analysis of industry claims about the effects of higher gambling taxes

    Our response to the backlash from the gambling industry on calls for higher taxes.
  2. A group of teenage students wearing maroon t-shirts smiling and responding to a teacher during a rehearsal

    Rethinking child poverty through enrichment accounts

    Every child should have access to activities that build confidence, skills, and opportunity, regardless of income.
  3. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…