Annu Rev Public Health. 2015 Mar 18;36:325-44. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122739. Epub 2014 Dec 10.

Trade policy and public health.

Annual review of public health

Sharon Friel, Libby Hattersley, Ruth Townsend

PMID: 25494052 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122739

Abstract

Twenty-first-century trade policy is complex and affects society and population health in direct and indirect ways. Without doubt, trade policy influences the distribution of power, money, and resources between and within countries, which in turn affects the natural environment; people's daily living conditions; and the local availability, quality, affordability, and desirability of products (e.g., food, tobacco, alcohol, and health care); it also affects individuals' enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. In this article, we provide an overview of the modern global trade environment, illustrate the pathways between trade and health, and explore the emerging twenty-first-century trade policy landscape and its implications for health and health equity. We conclude with a call for more interdisciplinary research that embraces complexity theory and systems science as well as the political economy of health and that includes monitoring and evaluation of the impact of trade agreements on health.

Keywords: health inequities; health services; trade agreements; unhealthy commodities; working conditions

MeSH terms

• Commerce / legislation & jurisprudence
• Health Services
• Humans
• Internationality / legislation & jurisprudence
• Public Health*
• Public Policy
• Tobacco Products / economics
• Tobacco Products / supply & distribution
• Workplace / standards

Publication Types

• Journal Article
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
• Review