After a few initial missteps, India handled its first wave rather well on both health and economic grounds. The positive pay-off from making public health a priority may be unseen, but the damage—political, economic and reputational—that accrues from ignoring it is enormous. As with most things in public economic policy, the pay-off is asymmetric, and economists who’ve been steeped for decades in the simple linearity of modern economic theories rarely understand asymmetry. The government could appoint a national task force—with chief ministers of different states and parties—on public health. The essay highlights seven legal and governance issues that need addressing for India’s public health delivery and outcomes to improve.

Source: Mint May 10, 2021 19:07 UTC