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Economic development and health improvement: mutual support in the historical UK (1541-2001)

Viktoria Dalko (Department of Finance, Hult International Business School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States) (Extension School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States)
Michael H. Wang (Research Institute of Comprehensive Economics, Quincy, Massachusetts, United States)

International Journal of Social Economics

ISSN: 0306-8293

Article publication date: 5 March 2018

429

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the mutual disruption and support of economic growth and health improvement in the last 500 years in the UK.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a general review and it compares institutional development, public policy, technological advances and scientific discoveries in economic growth with those in health improvement.

Findings

The paper finds the co-existence of slower economic growth and less increasing life expectancy from 1541 to 1871 and that of faster economic growth and rising life expectancy from 1871 to 2001. It is organized health improvement that effectively propelled economic growth in the time span of 1871-2001.

Research limitations/implications

The findings may contribute to the literature on mutual enhancement between economic growth and health improvement.

Practical implications

The findings may also provide implications to the policy makers how important organized health improvement is to economic growth.

Social implications

The findings show that when UK Government was leading in organized health improvement for the population, economic grown got propelled into a faster lane.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to unveil that a socially responsible government has permanent impact on the paths of both economic and social growth. It has value to other researchers attempting to understand the mutual disruption and support of economic growth and health improvement in the historical UK.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Dr Xin Yan for inspiration and Hai Tiet for research assistance. The authors thank Professor James Connelly, the Editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions. The authors also thank the participants of the Midwestern Economic Association Annual Meeting, March 31-April 2, 2017, Cincinnati, OH, USA and the Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meeting, April 12-15, 2017, Austin, TX, USA for their constructive comments. The authors are solely responsible for any errors in the paper.

Citation

Dalko, V. and Wang, M.H. (2018), "Economic development and health improvement: mutual support in the historical UK (1541-2001)", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 466-479. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-01-2017-0002

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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