Gertler and Hammer examine how governments finance and allocate public spending, with
an eye to developing strategies for pricing publicly provided health services. They also
examine the implications of current policy and the possibility for rationalizing competing
government priorities. Because governments face budget constraints and cannot fully
subsidize all programs and activities, Gertler and Hammer argue the following: Public
spending on health can (1) improve health outcomes,(2) promote nonhealth aspects of well …