The Great Escape audiobook cover - Health, Wealth and the Origin of Inequality

The Great Escape

Health, Wealth and the Origin of Inequality

Angus Deaton

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Economics

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The Great Escape
Human Progress & Inequality+
Historical Evolution of Health+
The Global Divergence+
Modern Wealthy Nation Struggles+
Rethinking Global Solutions+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
According to the book, how can global inequality actually contribute to progress?
  • A. It creates a competitive global labor market that drives down prices for essential goods.
  • B. Poor countries can observe and adopt the specific innovations that allowed wealthy countries to increase life expectancy.
  • C. Wealthy nations are legally required to donate a percentage of their GDP to poor countries.
  • D. It encourages wealthy individuals to migrate to poorer countries, bringing their wealth with them.
Question 2 of 8
What was the surprising effect of the Neolithic Revolution (the transition to agriculture) on early human well-being?
  • A. It drastically decreased well-being and life expectancy due to disease and poor sanitation in early settlements.
  • B. It immediately doubled human life expectancy by providing a reliable and stable food source.
  • C. It eliminated catastrophic famines because humans learned how to store surplus grain.
  • D. It led to the rapid development of advanced medical treatments to combat new viruses.
Question 3 of 8
What is cited as the primary reason for the massive 30-year increase in life expectancy in wealthy countries over the last century?
  • A. The complete eradication of cardiovascular diseases and cancer in adults.
  • B. A global decrease in military conflicts and world wars.
  • C. A significant decrease in child mortality rates.
  • D. The invention of genetic engineering and advanced surgical procedures.
Question 4 of 8
Why do children in poor countries continue to suffer high mortality rates from preventable diseases despite global medical knowledge?
  • A. The diseases in these regions have mutated to become highly resistant to modern vaccines.
  • B. International law prevents wealthy countries from sharing medical technology with developing nations.
  • C. The climate in these specific regions makes modern vaccines completely ineffective.
  • D. Governments lack the motivation to implement sanitation measures, and citizens are uneducated about their rights to healthcare.
Question 5 of 8
When it comes to extending the lives of the elderly in wealthy countries, what does the book suggest is more effective than simply increasing healthcare spending?
  • A. Subsidizing fast food to ensure caloric intake remains high for the elderly.
  • B. Focusing on better education, living standards, and healthy lifestyle decisions to prevent illness.
  • C. Investing exclusively in experimental pharmaceutical drugs for infectious diseases.
  • D. Building more specialized hospitals tailored only for cardiovascular surgeries.
Question 6 of 8
How did the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution change the nature of global inequality?
  • A. They shifted the largest wealth gaps from being within nations (aristocrats vs. farmers) to being between different nations.
  • B. They completely eradicated the concept of a middle class in European societies.
  • C. They shifted the greatest disparities of wealth from being between nations to being strictly within individual societies.
  • D. They ensured that all countries developed at the exact same pace, eliminating global inequality.
Question 7 of 8
According to the book, why isn't globalization and access to information enough to lift poorer countries out of poverty?
  • A. Because wealthy countries actively block poor countries from accessing the global internet.
  • B. Because poor countries often lack the fundamental institutions required to implement new innovations.
  • C. Because the internet is too expensive to operate in developing nations.
  • D. Because globalization only benefits the agricultural sectors of wealthy nations.
Question 8 of 8
What is the 'aid illusion' suffered by rich countries?
  • A. The belief that poor countries do not actually need any financial assistance to develop.
  • B. The idea that foreign aid is only effective when given directly to individual citizens rather than governments.
  • C. The misconception that simply injecting cash into poor countries will end poverty, ignoring the negative impact of corrupt regimes.
  • D. The assumption that all foreign aid is stolen by international charities before it ever reaches the developing world.

The Great Escape — Full Chapter Overview

The Great Escape Summary & Overview

The Great Escape (2013) clearly explains that humanity is doing better than ever before. But not everyone has benefited from the technological and political developments that have made our prosperity possible. By examining both historical and modern inequality, this book offers solid advice on how to close the gap.

Who Should Listen to The Great Escape?

  • Anyone interested in global inequality
  • Anyone interested in economics and health

About the Author: Angus Deaton

Angus Deaton, a professor at both Princeton University and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics. He is also the author of The Analysis of Household Surveys and Economics and Consumer Behaviour.

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