Health Economics in Mexico

Health, as a form of human capital, is one of the most important determinants of the economic development of any nation. A healthy nation enhances its opportunities for growth, not only by maintaining a happier population, which in the short term is the best indicator of well-being, but also by having a more productive and innovative workforce, which in the long term means sustainable economic growth, and the ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by a healthy nation.
the most efficient use of the resources at its disposal. Globally, countries spend, on average, 9% of their GDP on health, double the annual expenditure on education (4.5%). Although this percentage has increased over the years, Mexico currently devotes only 6.3% of its GDP to health spending, which is below the average for Latin American and European countries.
Although the current government's National Development Plan established five national targets associated with health issues and a gender perspective, among which the Inclusive Mexico target stands out, covering several health indicators, such as fertility and mortality rates, Mexico still faces situations that threaten health, such as poverty and health styles.
unhealthy lifestyle leading to obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
Understanding the links between health and well-being, or between health and growth, is of vital importance not only to enhance a country's economic development, but also to improve the health of its people, and thereby the well-being of its people. However, research on health economics in Mexico is still very scarce.
How does environmental pollution affect mortality, what are the risk factors associated with diseases such as diabetes, how can government intervention affect the consumption of sugary beverages, how does social policy contribute to combating food insecurity and overweight or adolescent pregnancy, or how can good health increase the school performance of our children and adolescents, are some of the questions addressed in this text. We know that there is still a great deal of research to be done, and that the need to better understand these interactions is still great. This book aims to motivate the scientific community to do more research on the subject and an invitation also to governments and public policy makers to use this information for the benefit of our country. This book is part of a more ambitious project to generate a Research Network on Health Economics in Mexico, where all researchers involved in the subject who so wish can obtain updated information and share opinions, proposals and research solutions. As part of this project, on August 18, 2017, the First Congress on Health Economics was held in Mexico, in the facilities of the University of Monterrey, where 12 papers were presented and 16 researchers from 9 universities participated.
of Mexico.