Facilitating complementary inputs and scoping economies in the joint supply of health and environmental services in Aboriginal central Australia.
Two concerns of national relevance in central Australia are the continuing decline in Aboriginal health status relative to the rest of the Australian population, and the loss of environmental services. We draw on literature from a number of disciplines to show that not only are these two concerns interrelated but that dealing with them is inextricably connected through consideration of the psychosocial determinants of health. Involvement by Aboriginal people in land management can promote the joint supply of environmental and health services. We show that Aboriginal control of land management can result in economies through the joint supply of environmental and health services. However, because Aboriginal people derive little benefit from the provision of public goods generated through land management, they have little incentive to provide a socially optimal supply of these goods. The policy issue for government is the selection of the appropriate policy tools to facilitate the involvement of Aboriginal people in land management and the optimal supply of health and environmental services. The cost-effectiveness plane is used to provide a simple framework to guide the selection of an appropriate policy tool.
Centre for Remote Health and Desert Knowledge CRC, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. d.campbell@flinders.edu.au.
David
D
Campbell
Jocelyn
J
Davies
John
J
Wakerman
D001315:Australia; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans