Understanding Peace and Security

This is a fresh contribution to what we know about the role of poverty and low income in the health of individuals and households in developing countries. This book presents the reader with a clear picture of the key aspects of the relationship between poverty, health and health care. It shows how the health status of individuals (especially the poor) in developing countries is particularly important from an economic perspective because of the accentuated impact ill health has on productivity, human capital efficiency and the subsequent levels of well-being in these countries. In order to present this rounded picture, this study examines the mechanisms through which the poor are made more vulnerable through sickness and subsequently stay in or move into poverty. It then extends this understanding by providing a quantitative approach in establishing how poverty can influence health care demand and health care insurance. This text will be of great interest to all students and scholars of politics, economics, sociology and development. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Development Studies.