Pump Up the Volume: Making Health and Wellbeing the Centre Stage of Economic Growth

Abstract

The aim of this article is to comment on ‘Healthier Australians’, Chapter 2 in the Productivity Commission's report Shifting the Dial. The report elevates health and wellbeing to a central role in lifting the nation's productivity. The main recommendations centre around better information in the health care system and improving the architecture of the system to ensure more decentralised decision making. If acted upon, these solid building blocks could provide significant opportunities to save lives and improve the health of the population and the wealth of the country.