Fiscal Policy for Health Policy Makers

Robert Gillingham

No 87981, Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) Discussion Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: This paper summarizes the basic principles that should form the basis of fiscal policy. These principles encompass decisions on the functions of government, its spending, and the financing of its spending that affect economic growth, employment, inflation, and economic welfare. Although the principles are broadly applicable, it is especially important that health policy makers understand them. Ensuring access to health care is one of society's, and therefore the government's, most important goals. In meeting this goal, policy makers must be cognizant of fiscal realities; what they can reasonably expect government to achieve in the health sector and at what cost. Resources are limited, and many valuable programs in both the private and public sectors vie for them. Allocating these resources efficiently is of paramount importance, with implications for what the government does and how it finances its activities. The absolute level and share of government resources allocated to the health sector will depend on a variety of factors, but the bottom line is that health programs must compete with other government programs for scarce resources to ensure that these resources are put to their best use.

Keywords: health, fiscal policy for health, public finance, revenue mobilization, expenditure decision making; health, fiscal policy for health, public finance, revenue ... See More + mobilization, expenditure decision making, , accounting, accounting standards, Accumulation of Debt, addiction, adverse selection, aging, asymmetric information, beneficiaries, beneficiary, bequest, borrowing requirement, budget surplus, budgeting, capital gains, cash flows, cash transfers, commodities, consumer durable, consumer durables, consumers, CONSUMPTION TAXES, contract laws, corporate income tax, corporate income taxes, crime, debt, debt ratio, debt relief, decision making, dedicated revenue, deficits, demand curve, democratic environment, deposits, developing countries, development agencies, development assistance, discounted value, distributional equity, dividends, durable goods, economic crisis, economic development, economic efficiency, economic growth, Economic Outlook, economies of scale, elasticity, electricity, environmental issues, Equity issues, evasion, Excise Taxes, exercises, expenditure, expenditures, exports, externalities, finances, financial assets, financial risk, financial services, FISCAL POLICY, fiscal surplus, fraud, GDP, GDP per capita, good governance, government action, government asset, government budget, government budgets, government finance, government finances, Government financing, government funds, GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, Government investment, government involvement, government revenues, government securities, government spending, growth rate, health care, health outcomes, HEALTH POLICY, health services, health spending, horizontal equity, housing, human capital, Human Development, immunization, implicit tax, income elasticity of demand, income groups, income level, income support, income tax, INCOME TAXES, incomes, indebtedness, inefficiency, inflation, inflation taxes, inheritance, insurance, insurance premium, interest rate, interest rates, Intergovernmental fiscal relations, International Bank, international standards, INTERVENTION, investment projects, isolation, issuance, labor market, laws, less developed countries, level of debt, levies, levy, licenses, life expectancy, loan, local government, local governments, local taxes, long-term interests, low-income countries, low-income country, marginal cost, Market failures, Market mechanisms, market prices, middle-income countries, Monetary Fund, moral hazard, mortgage, mortgage interest, national income, natural resources, negative externalities, negative externality, net debt, NONTAX REVENUE, normal good, Nutrition, old-age income, open economy, output, outputs, PARETO EFFICIENCY, payroll taxes, pension, pension contributions, pension system, pension systems, PENSIONS, personal income, personal property, POLITICAL ECONOMY, political economy of reform, pollution, positive externalities, prepayment, price rationing, Price subsidies, private market, private markets, private sector, privatization, progressive taxes, property rights, property taxes, provisions, public, public asset, public good, public goods, public health, Public pension, PUBLIC PENSIONS, public sector, public-private partnerships, Purchasing power, rapid growth, rate of return, rates of return, real income, real property, rent seeking, reserves, returns, REVENUE SOURCES, roads, sales taxes, savings, savings accounts, securities, small enterprises, social cost, social costs, stocks, structure of government, supply curve, surgery, sustainable reforms, tax, tax collections, tax policy, tax rate, tax rates, tax revenues, tax subsidies, tax subsidy, tax system, tax systems, TAXATION, technological change, trade liberalization, trade tax, Trade Taxes, trades, transparency, Treasury, Trust Fund, trust funds, turnover, unemployment, urbanization, user charges, value added, value of assets, vertical equity, voters, wages, waste, WEALTH, wealth tax, WEALTH TAXES, workers, world economy, world trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: pages 58 pages
Date: 2014-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea, nep-pbe and nep-pub
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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