Taxes and other fiscal measures on health-related commodities are in widespread use. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products have been subjected to taxation for a long time in most countries. Several OECD governments have passed legislation to increase existing taxes or to introduce new taxes...

Health spending slowed markedly or fell in many OECD countries recently after years of continuous growth, according to OECD Health Data 2012. As a result of the global economic crisis which began in 2008, a zero rate of growth in health expenditure was recorded on average in 2010, and...

The global economic crisis which began in 2008 has had a dramatic effect on health spending across OECD countries. Estimates of expenditure on health released back in 2012 showed that, for the first time, health spending had slowed markedly or fallen across many OECD countries after years of...

Alcohol policies have significant potential to curb alcohol-related harms, improve health, increase productivity, reduce crime and violence, and cut government expenditure. The WHO Global Strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol provides a menu of policy options based on international...

Harmful alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of ill health and premature mortality worldwide. This paper illustrates trends and social disparities in alcohol consumption and harmful drinking in 20 OECD countries. Analyses are based on individual-level data from national health and...

Overweight and obesity rates have been increasing relentlessly over recent decades in all industrialised countries, as well as in many lower income countries. OECD analyses of trends over time support the grim picture drawn in the international literature and so do projections of overweight and...

This paper provides an overview of past and projected future trends in adult overweight and obesity in OECD countries. Using individual-level data from repeated cross-sectional national surveys, some of the main determinants and pathways underlying the current obesity epidemic are explored, and...

The United States has the largest professional nurse workforce in the world numbering close to 3 million but does not produce enough nurses to meet its growing demand. A shortage of close to a million professional nurses is projected to evolve by 2020. An emerging physician shortage will further...

This paper provides an economic perspective on the prevention of chronic diseases, focusing in particular on diseases linked to lifestyle choices. The proposed economic framework is centred on the hypothesis that the prevention of chronic diseases may provide the means for increasing social...

An epidemic of obesity has been developing in virtually all OECD countries over the last 30 years. Existing evidence provides strong suggestions that such epidemic has affected certain social groups more than others. In particular, education appears to be associated with a lower likelihood of...