The fiscal response to the Italian COVID-19 crisis: A counterfactual analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented worldwide event with a massive impact on the economic system. The first Western country that had to face the COVID-19 crisis was Italy, which therefore represents a natural "case study." By using the microdata and granular policy information available at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, this paper provides a macroeconomic quantitative assessment of the initial emergency fiscal measures introduced in 2020 and an analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 shock during the lockdown. We find that emergency measures avoided an additional fall of GDP of about 4.4% in 2020. The impact of public interventions on the dynamics of investments is particularly significant.

The macroeconomic impacts of diet-related fiscal policy for NCD prevention: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Diet-related fiscal policies are effective interventions to address non-communicable disease. However, despite these being economic policy instruments, there is little public health attention given to the evidence of macroeconomic impacts. This review aims to assess the global evidence for the macroeconomic impact of diet-related fiscal policies for non-communicable disease prevention on industry revenue, government revenue and employment. METHODS: For this systematic review we comprehensively searched the bibliographic databases MEDLINE, OvidSP, EMBASE, Global Health, SCOPUS, CINAHL and ECONLIT, and Google Scholar for English peer-reviewed studies or grey literature, with no date cut-off. Global interventions with a focus on diet-related fiscal strategies were assessed for the outcomes of industry revenue, gross domestic product, government revenue and employment. We excluded non-English papers. FINDINGS: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies were on sugar sweetened beverage taxation and one also included an energy-dense food tax. Nine were modelling studies and two used interrupted time series analysis based on empirical evidence. One study found potential employment increases because of taxation; two found no significant job losses and eight found reduced employment. Taxes reduced sales volume and revenue within the sugar/beverage industry. Government revenue generation was positive in all studies. One study considered redistribution of consumer and government spending to other goods and services; INTERPRETATION: We found no robust evidence for negative macroeconomic impacts of diet-related fiscal policies, likely a reflection of the limited methodology used in the analyses. This review suggests that there is a need for more high-quality research into the macroeconomic impacts of diet related fiscal measures and similar to tobacco taxation, government should consider directing revenue generated towards complementary measures to generate employment and/or provide livelihood training for those affected.

A review on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) burden, its socio-economic impact and the strategies for prevention and control of NCDs in India.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major public health problem in India accounting for 62% of the total burden of foregone DALYs and 53% of total deaths. Out-of-pocket expenditure associated with the acute and long-term effects of NCDs is high resulting in catastrophic health expenditure for the households. A large national survey in India found that spending on NCDs accounted for 5.17% of household expenditure. According to a macroeconomic analysis, it is estimated that each 10% increase in NCDs is associated with a 0.5% lower rate of annual economic growth. The income loss due to hypertension is the highest, followed by diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The macroeconomic impact of NCDs is profound as they cause loss of productivity and decrease in gross domestic product. Since the health sector alone cannot deal with the "chronic emergency" of NCDs, a multisectoral action addressing the social determinants and strengthening of health systems for universal coverage to population and individual services is required.

Macroeconomic costs of the unmet burden of surgical disease in Sierra Leone: a retrospective economic analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimated that low/middle-income countries will lose an estimated cumulative loss of US$12.3 trillion from gross domestic product (GDP) due to the unmet burden of surgical disease. However, no country-specific data currently exist. We aimed to estimate the costs to the Sierra Leone economy from death and disability which may have been averted by surgical care. DESIGN: We used estimates of total, met and unmet need from two main sources-a cluster randomised, cross-sectional, countrywide survey and a retrospective, nationwide study on surgery in Sierra Leone. We calculated estimated disability-adjusted life years from morbidity and mortality for the estimated unmet burden and modelled the likely economic impact using three different methods-gross national income per capita, lifetime earnings foregone and value of a statistical life. RESULTS: In 2012, estimated, discounted lifetime losses to the Sierra Leone economy from the unmet burden of surgical disease was between US$1.1 and US$3.8 billion, depending on the economic method used. These lifetime losses equate to between 23% and 100% of the annual GDP for Sierra Leone. 80% of economic losses were due to mortality. The incremental losses averted by scale up of surgical provision to the Lancet Commission target of 80% were calculated to be between US$360 million and US$2.9 billion. CONCLUSION: There is a large economic loss from the unmet need for surgical care in Sierra Leone. There is an immediate need for massive investment to counteract ongoing economic losses.

Research on the Macroeconomic Impact Factors of Medical Insurance Costs in Shanghai / 中国卫生经济

Objective:To determine the cost of medical insurance macroeconomic factors,and propose countermeasures for macro-control health insurance costs.Methods:Principal component analysis was applied to screen dominant macroeconomic factors that influenced medical insurance costs of Shanghai.Results:From the macro perspective,the economy and technology were the main factors affecting medical insurance costs.Conclusion:It needed to increase government investment in public health finance,develop cost-declined medical technology and strengthen the construction of medical and health information,as well as to strengthen government oversight.