This policy brief looks at inclusiveness of economic growth
in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from the perspective of
population health outcomes.
Health is a key dimension of human
welfare and an intrinsic goal of development, this being reflected
in the prominence of health among the Millennium Development
Goals. The distribution of health outcomes is a key indicator of the
inclusiveness of economic growth in a country (see, for example, Sen
1998). Arguably, levels and distribution in health outcomes can also
serve as proxies for the concern a government has for all its citizens,
and for the extent to which a government is pro-poor. Population
health outcomes and their distribution are now an important focus
of the PRC government’s strategy toward a harmonious society, as
reflected in its 11th Five Year Plan.
This policy brief specifically asks two questions. Firstly, has
spectacular economic growth in the PRC over the past three
decades been accompanied by similar achievements in improving
population health outcomes? And, secondly, how inclusive have
the improvements in health outcomes in the PRC been? To answer
the first question, we relate the PRC’s life expectancy to its per
capita income and examine how this relationship has changed
during the postreform period compared to the prereform period. We
also compare improvements in health outcomes in the PRC with
those of some of its regional peers. To assess the inclusiveness
of improvements in population health outcomes, we use both
provincial- and household-level data to examine interprovincial
and interhousehold inequality in health outcomes and health care
coverage.