How can public policies improve people's health? What impact do they wield over the environment and personal lifestyles? Faced with cost-containment pressures, to what degree have political leaders implemented efficient health programs?

Probing these issues, Charles F. Andrain compares public policies, social inequality and health in eight industrialized countries: the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Sweden, The Netherlands and Japan. Using an interdisciplinary approach he not only describes health policies but also explains recent changes in national health programs.