Although government health-care programs have been a tremendous drag on economic growth in most developed countries, they remain popular with large segments of the population. Moving away from a government model would likely require, not the dissemination of studies showing that it undermines prosperity, but a sea change in the way people view human dignity, individual responsibility, and natural rights.

Enrico Colombatto is Professor of Economics at the University of Turin and Director of the International Centre for Economic Research in Turin, Italy.
Bureaucracy and GovernmentEconomic PolicyEconomyGovernment and PoliticsHealth and Healthcare
Other Independent Review articles by Enrico Colombatto
Spring 2022 Tax Tyranny
Summer 2008 The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond
Summer 2005 Euro as Politics
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