The Political Economy of Health: A Research Agenda for Addressing Health Inequalities in Canada

In: Canadian public policy: Analyse de politiques, Band 41, Heft Supplement 2, S. S17-S25

Abstract

Public policy creates health inequalities among Canadians by inequitably distributing the social determinants of health (SDOH). Political decisions by authorities bring about these public policies, yet to date there has been little resistance to these decisions by the Canadian public. This article proposes a research agenda for investigating why this might be the case by considering a) Canada's identification as a liberal welfare state; b) the relative power and influence of the corporate and business sector, labour, and civil society in shaping SDOH-related public policy-making; c) how population health researchers and public health practitioners understand health inequalities and their role in reducing them; and d) the public's understanding of SDOH and public policy-making.