The political context of social inequalities and health

This analysis reflects on the importance of political parties, and the poli cies they implement when in government, in determining the level of equalit ies/inequalities in a society, the extent of the welfare state (including t he level of health care coverage by the state), the employment/unemployment rate, and the level of population health. The study looks at the impact of the major political traditions in the advanced OECD countries during the g olden years of capitalism (1945-1980)-social democratic, Christian democrat ic, liberal, and ex-fascist-in four areas: (1) the main determinants of inc ome inequalities; (2) levels of public expenditures and health care benefit s coverage; (3) public support of services to families; and (4) the level o f population health as measured by infant mortality. The results indicate t hat political traditions mon committed to redistributive policies (both eco nomic and social) and full-employment policies, such as the social democrat ic parties, were generally more successful in improving the health of popul ations. The erroneous assumption of a conflict between social equity and ec onomic efficiency is also discussed. The study aims at filling a void in th e growing health and social inequalities literature, which rarely touches o n the importance of political forces in influencing inequalities.