The Politics of European Public Health Data

Abstract : This chapter examines the effect of public health data on European policy-making. Political stakeholders of all kinds and at all levels of government are frequently observed making non-trivial use of public health data, often in the form of indicators such as mortality rates or expenditure levels. Virtually all forms of strategic reasoning and communicative action are infused with such indicators, most of which have become increasingly available to decision-makers through national and supranational administrative units, academic research centers and third parties like think tanks or international organizations. Nothing about public health data might therefore be deemed entirely new, but their widespread diffusion within and across borders suggests that their political effects may increase.