This book brings together new studies on regional disparities in the provision and maintenance of health in Asia. Specifically, the individual chapters shed light on the various health challenges that Asian regions face with regard to environmental health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, reproductive health, and the development of health systems. The book departs from the existing literature on this subject in three ways. First, it explicitly recognizes that health is essential to the daily lives of human beings. Second, it underscores the fact that good health improves learning, employee productivity, and incomes. Third, the book demonstrates the ways in which an understanding of the preceding two points contributes to our grasp of economic growth and development.

Because Asia is now the fastest-growing and most dynamic continent in the world, the respective chapters provide practical guidance concerning two key questions: First, how do we effectively address the health challenges in individual regions of Asia? Second, how do we ensure that the proposed health interventions lead to sustainable economic growth and development? To this end, the book emphasizes modeling and illustrates the role that sound empirical modeling can play in developing measures that sustainably address the health challenges confronting disparate Asian regions. All chapters were written by international experts who are active researchers in their respective fields. Hence, this book is highly recommended to all readers seeking an in-depth and up-to-date perspective on some of the most important issues at the interface of human health and regional growth and development in Asia.

Sheds new light on important and previously overlooked questions concerning disease and human health in Asia Collects the results of pioneering research on many questions about disease and health in Asia Shows how empirical modeling can be effectively utilized to shed new light on research questions regarding health and disease in Asia

Autorentext
Amitrajeet A. Batabyal is an Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He obtained a B.S. in Applied Economics and Business Management from Cornell University in 1987, an M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1990, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994. He was the recipient of the Geoffrey J. D. Hewings Award from the North American Regional Science Council in 2003, the Moss Madden Memorial Medal from the British and Irish Section of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) in 2004, and the Mattei Dogan Foundation Prize from the International Social Science Council in 2013. He is an Honorary Member of the RSAI's Japan Section and a Fellow of the Regional Studies Association. Yoshiro Higano received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Yokohama National University in 1974, his Master of Arts from the University of Tsukuba in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Hokkaido University in 1986.  He became Lecturer at Toyohashi University of Technology in 1986, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987. In 1994, he became a Professor of Environmental Policy at the University of Tsukuba, and became an Emeritus Professor in 2017. Having served as President of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) from 2011 to 2012, he specializes in Environmental Policy and Comprehensive Evaluation of Environmental Remediation Technology, Location Decision Analysis, Marshallian Externalities, etc. Peter Nijkamp is an Emeritus Professor of Regional and Urban Economics and Economic Geography at VU University in Amsterdam. He is currently affiliated with the Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland) and the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS). He serves on the editorial/advisory boards of more than 20 scientific journals. According to the RePec list, he belongs to the top 25 best-known economists worldwide. He is also a fellow and past vice-president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the most prestigious scientific prize in the Netherlands, the Spinoza award, and has authored over 2,000 articles and books. He has not only been involved in academic research, but also in many practical policy issues in the field of decision-making, regional development, environmental management, governance of culture, transportation and communication, and advanced data analytics.

Inhalt
Part I. Introduction.- Chapter 1. Introduction to Disease, Human Health, and Regional Growth and Development in Asia.- Part II. South Asia.- Chapter 2. Food Consumption, Calorie Intake, and Undernourishment in India: The Recent Evidence on the Role of Welfare Schemes.- Chapter 3. The Geography of Excess Weight in Urban India: Regional Patterns and Labor Market and Dietary Correlates.- Chapter 4. Health System and Health Expenditure Productivity Changes in Indian States: Has it changed for the Better in the Post Reform Period?.- Chapter 5. Gender Perspectives in Health Related Situation in Rural Bangladesh: A Micro Level Study.- Chapter 6. Assessing Health-related Situation of the Rural Elderly in Bangladesh: A Micro-level Study.- Part III. Southeast Asia.- Chapter 7. Do Trade Reforms Promote Nutritional Status? Evidence from Indonesia.- Chapter 8. Health Inequity in the Philippines.- Part IV. East Asia.- Chapter 9. An Investigation of Medical Expenditures in Hospitals andClinics Using Propensity Scores.- Part V. Oceania.- Chapter 10. Health and Distance to Health Care in Papua New Guinea.