Policy Punchline

In this episode of Policy Punchline, we are honored to welcome Sir Angus Deaton, the esteemed British-American economist and recipient of the 2015 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Sir Deaton discusses the dynamics of wealth, health, and inequality across the globe and, as per his latest book, Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality, his adopted homeland. We discuss the "deaths of despair" framework developed by Anne Case and Professor Deaton as well as the recent refinement of the theory and popular critiques. We delve into his extensive research on income and health inequality, exploring the intricate relationship between economic prosperity and public health outcomes. He challenges conventional wisdom by emphasizing that inequality within nations can have profound effects on societal structures and individual lives, often leading to significant disparities in health as well as political resentment. We discuss his book "The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and th