Incorporating Economic Policy Into A ‘Health-In-All-Policies’ Agenda

Pooling data from all 50 states between 1990–2010, the researchers provide a broad portrait of how economic policies affect health. Overall, Rigby and Hatch found better health outcomes in states that enacted higher tax credits for the poor or higher minimum wage laws and in states without a right-to-work law that limits union power. These policies focus on increasing the incomes of low-income and working-class families, instead of on shaping the resources available to wealthier individuals.

Incorporating these findings into a health-in-all-policies agenda will require leadership from the health sector, including a willingness to step into core and polarizing debates about redistribution policy.