For more than 200 years economic growth has been the basis for health improvement in the developed world. This route to health improvement will in the near future be challenged as the price of energy rises in response to dwindling fossil fuel production. This will expose the dependency of the economy on cheap energy and globalisation and has the potential to cause catastrophic economic collapse.
In addition, the role of continued economic growth in nurturing inequalities, overconsumption and static measures of well-being is now becoming apparent. If future health improvement is desirable, a considered debate is now necessary if these consequences are to be avoided.
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