Health

Abstract

This chapter deals with what is said to be the most important thing in life: health. Health, therefore, is a big deal in all OECD countries, which on average spent almost one-tenth of their GDP on their health-care system. These health-care systems are at the centre of this chapter. After having discussed their origins and developments and the existing typologies of health-care systems we analyse the three functions of each health-care system in detail, i.e. finance, delivery, and regulation. In a nutshell, we find that systems have become more complex and more hybrid over time, while the clear distinctions between different system types have been blurred. One reason for this is the attempt to pick up elements from other system types in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency. As different systems produce different results, performance measurement has become of increasing interest, an issue we turn on then. Respective approaches, however, are still—at best—highly disputable. As health-care systems seem to be in a state of permanent reform, in a subsequent section we present approaches to explain such reforms coming from different strands of theory. The chapter concludes with a view on international and global health, highlighting that health governance issues emerge at the interface of local, national, regional, and global interests.