Why a Macroeconomic Perspective Is Critical to the Prevention of Noncommunicable Disease

Abstract

Effective prevention of noncommunicable diseases will require changes in how we live, and thereby effect important economic changes across populations, sectors, and countries. What we do not know is which populations, sectors, or countries will be positively or negatively affected by such changes, nor by how much. Without this information we cannot know which policies will produce effects that are beneficial both for economies and for health.