Clare Bambra is Professor of Public Health at the Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University. Julia Lynch is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.Katherine Smith is Professor of Public Health Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

• 1. Introduction: The holy grail of reducing health inequalities2. The Great Society: social reform and health inequalities in the United States3. Vote early, vote often: democratisation in Brazil and health inequalities4. What belongs together will grow together: German reunification and health inequalities5. Things can only get better: England’s Health Inequalities Strategy6. Waxing and waning: the four levellers of health inequalities7. Conclusion: The politics of health inequalities

“Recognition that the key determinants of health inequalities lie in the realm of politics and macroeconomics can foster world-weariness, even despair – what to do? This book is an evidence-based counter to despair. It shows, using four case studies, that health inequalities have been reduced by political and social policies. The key message is to continue these life-enhancing policies.” Sir Michael Marmot, UCL Institute of Health Equity