Based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Health, Behavior & Society, we conduct economic research to demonstrate the effects of existing policies and chart pathways to new ones that promote healthier populations and more robust and equal economies. Our approach emphasizes collaboration among economists, health experts, key stakeholders, and decision makers.
Fiscal policies are pivotal drivers of everything, from the decision to smoke and consume alcohol, to food choices, and to environmental factors. In our work under the Tobacconomics name, we supported researchers in low- and middle-income countries to build a local evidence base for effective health tax policies (e.g., tobacco and alcohol) that can strengthen government efforts to establish cost-effective and evidence-based health tax systems while maximizing public health and revenue.
We’re particularly proud to have contributed to the progress in reducing tobacco use, yet there is much work to be done to address other societal challenges such as rising rates of diseases like cancer, widening inequality, social unrest, enduring health burdens, and hampered development.
As Economics for Health, we continue to engage in the work we have always done, while expanding to a wider array of topics that affect the health and wellness of communities, as well as sustainable economic development. Together with our partners, we are dedicated to shaping economic policies that build Healthier People, Stronger Economies.
The single most consistently effective tobacco control tool is significantly increasing the excise tax on tobacco products.