The Body Economic

Can our economy make us sick? David Stuckler thinks it can. Stuckler is an Oxford University professor whose focus is the intersection of political economy and public health. In 2013, he co-wrote The Body Economic: Why Austerity Kills, arguing that some countries have turned recessions into public health disasters in misguided efforts to get the budget back on track.

Stuckler has studied large data sets from across the globe to learn how economic upheavals – from the Great Depression to the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Asian Financial Crisis to the Global Financial Crisis – have affected the health of citizens.

Australia’s economy has held up better than most in recent times, so how do Stuckler’s findings relate to us? And what lessons can Australian policy-makers learn from mistakes made in other countries?

For our first Fifth Estate event in 2016, join Sally Warhaft and a fascinating international guest for a discussion of health and economic upheaval.