Department of Sociology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2010 Sep;32(3):298-306. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdq060.
Does the current economic crisis require the deep cuts in public spending announced in the June 2010 emergency budget, with potential implications for public health? The arguments for and against such cuts in response to economic recession are complex, but if public health professionals are to engage in debates about future public spending, they should be informed by relevant evidence. In this perspective, we note that opinions among politicians and economists about how to respond to economic downturns are divided, while other EU countries, many with greater levels of debt than the UK, are protecting public expenditure unless required to do so by the International Monetary Fund. Current UK debt may in fact be viewed as sustainable given current information about interest rates, inflation and economic growth. Before accepting large cuts in public spending, it is important to contrast the lack of evidence for such short-term fixes with potentially dire repercussions for population health and welfare.
当前的经济危机是否需要像 2010 年 6 月紧急预算案中宣布的那样大幅削减公共支出，这可能对公共卫生产生影响？为应对经济衰退而进行此类削减的利弊非常复杂，但如果公共卫生专业人员要参与未来公共支出的辩论，他们应该参考相关证据。在这方面，我们注意到，政治家和经济学家对如何应对经济衰退的看法存在分歧，而其他欧盟国家（其中许多国家的债务水平高于英国）正在保护公共支出，除非国际货币基金组织要求其这样做。考虑到当前有关利率、通胀和经济增长的信息，英国目前的债务实际上可能被视为可持续的。在接受大幅削减公共支出之前，重要的是要将这种短期补救措施缺乏证据与对人口健康和福利可能产生的严重影响进行对比。
