Healthy Returns: A Catalyst for Economic Growth and ResilienceCONTACT WifOR Institute Ludwigsplatz 6 64283 Darmstadt Darmstadt | Berlin | Leipzig | Athens www.wifor.com LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Prof. Dennis A. Ostwald, PhD Malina Müller, PhD Sandra Zimmermann, PhD Ceyda Ural Hatice BetonPUBLISHERS WifOR Institute Ludwigsplatz 6 64283 Darmstadt ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WifOR conducts independent scientific research and does not provide services for advertising, sales promotion, endorsement, investment solicitation, investment advice, or for use in legal or regulatory proceedings. This report was prepared by WifOR with due professional care and in accordance with the agreed scope of work. Given the in-herent nature of research, WifOR does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of the results for any specific purpose. The client assumes full responsibility for any use, interpretation, or application of the information contained herein. WifOR and its employees accept no liability for any consequences arising from such use. This study was funded by Johnson & Johnson. All analyses and conclusions were developed independently by WifOR. We would like to thank Iakovos Papaioannou and Omar Jouini for acting as the researchers for this paper. Table of ContentsTable of Contents 3 List of Abbreviations 3 1 —Executive Summary 5 2 —Introduction 7 3 —Health as an Economic Driver and Multiplier for Socioeconomic Stability & Growth 9 4 —The Direct, Indirect & Hidden Cost of Inaction in Health 14 5 —How to Create Healthy Returns Across the Care Continuum 19 6 —From Evidence to Action – Policy Levers to Promote Value of Investment in Health 26 7 —Conclusion 31 8 —Bibliography 34 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GVA Gross Value Added HE Health Economy OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development R&D Research & Development ROI Return on Investment SROI Societal Return on Investment US United States WHO World Health Organization 3KEY FINDINGS Based on the latest academic research, this paper acknowledges that the case for health invest-ments is not new but what is still missing is a coherent investment framework that bridges health priorities with economic decision-making. The paper argues that health must be treated as core infrastructure; funded proactively to deliver economic, societal, and human re-turns. The paper identifies 5 domains for investments where health acts as an economic driver and multiplier to the health sector but also to the wider economy of a country. These investable domains include human capi-tal, workforce productivity, caregiver relief, innovation, competitiveness, and resilience and fiscal and societal stability. To realize that value, the paper enumerates 4 policy levers for change: focusing on optimizing do-mestic resources; advancing smart health investments through a cross-governm...