Neoliberalism and population health in Latin America and the Caribbean

The key feature of economic and social policies in Latin America and the Caribbean during the last decades of the XX century was the implementation of several policies directed to strengthening the role of private markets in all public arenas, i.e. neoliberalism. The aim of this dissertation is to evaluate how neoliberalism impacted the health of the population. The analysis included a review of the relevant scientific literature, a cross national comparison of the relationship between income inequality and health, and a case study of the international political context of the implementation of neoliberal reforms of social security. First, the study included an ecological design to examine the relationship between political regime, income distribution, economic development, and average levels of population health among Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) between 1980 and 1995. Using simple and partial correlations, the study found an association between income inequality, economic development and national health indicators. Health indicators tend to be better among those countries with higher economic development and more egalitarian distribution of income. The findings suggest that both absolute and relative deprivation affect population health. Furthermore, those countries characterized by social democratic-like regimes and income redistributive policies enjoyed the best health indicators. Second, the World Health Organization (WHO), International Financial Institutions (IFIs), and transnational corporations have converged in neoliberal reforms of social security in Latin America. IFIs, such as the World Bank, promoted social security reforms within a neoliberal framework. The WHO endorsed those policies of privatisation of social security that benefited international corporations and local business elite. This study confirms the known association between economic development and health and also provides some initial evidence on the association between income inequality and health. In conclusion, the implementation of neoliberal policies has contributed to increased or maintained health inequalities through several mechanisms. They include the weakening of the welfare state, the deterioration of working conditions, and environmental degradation. Thus, the major way in which neoliberalism affected health was through a process of resource transfer from labor to capital. The limitations of the study and some suggestions for further research are also presented.