ORCID Profile
0000-0002-8072-9066
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12992-021-00781-6
Abstract: Many of the harms created by the global soft drink industry that directly influence human and planetary health are well documented. However, some of the ways in which the industry indirectly affects population health, via various socio-economic pathways, have received less attention. This paper aimed to analyse the extent to which market power and corporate wealth and income distribution in the global soft drink market negatively impact public health and health equity. In doing so, the paper sought to contribute to the development of a broad-based public health approach to market analysis. A range of dimensions (e.g., market concentration financial performance corporate wealth and income distribution) and indicators (e.g., Herfindahl Hirschman Index earnings relative to the industry average effective tax rates and shareholder value ratios) were descriptively analysed. Empirical focus was placed on the two dominant global soft drink manufacturers. Coca-Cola Co, and, to a lesser extent, PepsiCo, operate across an extensive patchwork of highly concentrated markets. Both corporations control vast amounts of wealth and resources, and are able to allocate relatively large amounts of money to potentially harmful practices, such as extensive marketing of unhealthy products. Over recent decades, the proportion of wealth and income transferred by these firms to their shareholders has increased substantially whereas the proportion of wealth and income redistributed by these two firms to the public via income taxes has considerably decreased. Meanwhile, the distribution of soft drink consumption is becoming increasingly skewed towards population groups in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Market power and corporate wealth and income distribution in the global soft drink market likely compound the market’s maldistribution of harms, and indirectly influence health by contributing to social and economic inequalities. Indeed, a ‘double burden of maldistribution’ pattern can be seen, wherein the wealth of the shareholders of the market’s dominant corporations, a group over-represented by a small and wealthy elite, is maximised largely at the expense of the welfare of LMICs and lower socioeconomic groups in high-income countries. If this pattern continues, the appropriate role of the global soft drink market as part of sustainable economic development will require rethinking.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-04-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12992-021-00688-2
Abstract: The detrimental impact of dominant corporations active in health-harming commodity industries is well recognised. However, to date, existing analyses of the ways in which corporations influence health have paid limited attention to corporate market power. Accordingly, the public health implications of concentrated market structures, the use of anti-competitive market strategies, and the ways in which market power mediates the allocation and distribution of resources via market systems, remain relatively unexplored. To address this gap, this paper aimed to identify and explore key literature that could inform a comprehensive framework to examine corporate market power from a public health perspective. The ultra-processed food (UPF) industry was used to provide illustrative ex les. A scoping review of a erse range of literature, including Industrial Organization, welfare economics, global political economy and antitrust policy, was conducted to identify important concepts and metrics that could be drawn upon within the field of public health to understand and explore market power. The Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) model, a guiding principle of antitrust policy and the regulation of market power, was used as an organising framework. We described each of the components of the traditional SCP model and how they have historically been used to assess market power through examining the interrelations between the structure of industries and markets, the conduct of dominant firms, and the overall ability of markets and firms to efficiently allocate and distribute the scarce resources. We argue that the SCP model is well-placed to broaden public health research into the ways in which corporations influence health. In addition, the development of a comprehensive framework based on the key findings of this paper could help the public health community to better engage with a set of policy and regulatory tools that have the potential to curb the concentration of corporate power for the betterment of population health.
Publisher: Maad Rayan Publishing Company
Date: 09-09-2023
Publisher: Maad Rayan Publishing Company
Date: 25-01-2021
Abstract: Background: There is increasing recognition that power imbalances that favour corporations, especially those active in unhealthy commodity industries, over other actors are central to the ways in which corporations influence population health. However, existing frameworks for analysing corporate strategies and practices that impact on health do not incorporate concepts of power in consistent ways. This paper aimed to review the ways in which corporate power has been incorporated into such frameworks, and to propose a revised framing of the commercial determinants of health (CDoH) that makes concepts of power explicit. Methods: We conducted a narrative review of frameworks that identify corporate strategies and practices and explain how these influence population health. Content analysis was conducted to identify explicit references to different qualities of power – its origins, nature, and manifestations. Results: Twenty-two frameworks were identified, five of which used theories of power. A wide range of contexts that shape, and are shaped by corporate power were discussed, as were a ersity of corporate, social and ecological outcomes. A variety of material and ideational sources of power was also covered. We proposed an integrated ‘Corporate Power and Health’ framework to inform analysis of the CDoH, organised around key questions on power set out by Foucault. The proposed framework draws from a number of well-established corporate power theories and synthesises key features of existing CDoH frameworks. Conclusion: Public health advocates, researchers and policy-makers would likely be better placed to understand and address the CDoH by engaging with theories of power to a greater extent, and by explicitly incorporating concepts of corporate power in analyses of how the deployment of corporate strategies and practices influence population health.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 28-01-2021
Abstract: The mental health burden of displaced communities is enormous and ever-increasing. Community-based Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (CB-MHPSS) interventions are seen as vital in addressing this challenge, and they have been lauded as being integral in the overall multi-level Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Intervention approach in humanitarian settings. This article assumes that CB-MHPSS innately require a participatory approach to truly benefit the targeted population. It explores important benefits and challenges of using a participatory approach with CB-MHPSS interventions, as well as identifying key considerations in their design and implementation. A literature review of the PubMed database, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, and defined ‘grey literature’ identified 42 relevant articles. Thematic analysis identified dilemmas raised by many of the authors, including: the disconnect between using a participatory community-based approach and evidence-based medicine using locally derived versus standardised measures incorporating local mental health expressions and idioms into the intervention versus using standardised diagnostic classifications empowering communities versus falling into the hands of local power dynamics and agendas and trying to allow for sufficient time to develop relationships and build trust with the targeted community. The findings can serve to encourage reflexivity and critical thinking in the design and implementation of future CB-MHPSS interventions, which will be required to develop robust evidence that supports CB-MHPSS interventions in displaced communities.
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 03-10-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-01-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S12992-023-00905-0
Abstract: Share buybacks, when a corporation buys back its own shares, are recognised as having potentially harmful impacts on society. This includes by contributing to economic inequalities, and by impeding investments with the potential to protect and promote the welfare of various stakeholders. Share buybacks, however, have received minimal analytical attention in the public health literature. This paper aimed to explore the potential influence of share buybacks on population health and health inequity using a socio-ecological determinants of health lens. We conducted a descriptive analysis of share buybacks made by corporations listed on United States (US) stock exchanges between 1982 and 2021, using quantitative data sourced from Compustat. We examined annual trends in share buyback expenditure, including comparisons to idend, net income, capital expenditure, and research and development expenditure data. We then purposively s led a set of corporations to provide illustrative ex les of how share buybacks potentially influence key socio-ecological determinants of health. The ex les were: i) three COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers ii) five of the world’s largest fossil fuel corporations and iii) US car manufacturer General Motors. For these, we conducted an analysis of data from Compustat, company reports and grey literature materials, focusing on key sources of profits and their allocation to share buybacks and particular investments. US-listed corporations spent an estimated US$9.2 trillion in real terms on share buybacks between 2012 and 2021 (nearly 12 times more than from 1982 to 1991). The contribution of share buybacks to total shareholder ‘returns’ increased from 11% in 1982 to 55% in 2021, with expenditure on shareholder returns increasing considerably relative to capital, research and development expenditure over this period. The three ex les illustrated how some corporations have prioritised the short-term financial interests of their shareholders, including via implementing large share buyback programs, over investments with considerable potential to protect and promote the public’s health. The potentially substantial impacts of share buybacks on health warrant increased research and policy attention. Arguably, more must be done to regulate share buybacks as part of efforts to address the corporate drivers of ill-health and inequity.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 23-08-2018
DOI: 10.1108/IJMHSC-02-2018-0010
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe non-specialised, group-based interventions in displaced populations from reviewed literature, and to explore their outcomes. A literature review was conducted using the PubMed database, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, and defined “grey literature”. Characteristics of the interventions were summarised into a table under key categories such as targeted persons, study setting, level of evidence, outcome measures, assessment tools used and summary of results. In total, 11 articles were identified stemming from nine separate interventions. Three of these were considered level 1 evidence as they were randomised controlled trials. The described interventions were markedly heterogeneous in nature and produced erse findings. There were noted methodological issues in the majority of interventions reviewed. This original research has demonstrated clear need for research that uses robust methodology accounting for the complex and challenging nature of this context.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-01-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S12992-021-00667-7
Abstract: The public health community has become increasingly critical of the role that powerful corporations play in driving unhealthy diets, one of the leading contributors to the global burden of disease. While a substantial amount of work has examined the political strategies used by dominant processed food manufacturers that undermine public health, less attention has been paid to their use of market strategies to build and consolidate power. In this light, this paper aimed to systematically review and synthesise the market strategies deployed by dominant processed food manufacturers to increase and consolidate their power. A systematic review and document analysis of public health, business, legal and media content databases (Scopus, Medline, ABI Inform, Business Source Complete, Thomas Reuters Westlaw, Lexis Advance, Factiva, NewsBank), and grey literature were conducted. Data extracted were analysed thematically using an approach informed by Porter’s ‘Five Forces’ framework. 213 documents met inclusion criteria. The market strategies ( n =21) and related practices of dominant processed food manufacturers identified in the documents were categorised into a typological framework consisting of six interconnected strategic objectives: i) reduce intense competition with equivalent sized rivals and maintaining dominance over smaller rivals ii) raise barriers to market entry by new competitors iii) counter the threat of market disruptors and drive dietary displacement in favour of their products iv) increase firm buyer power over suppliers v) increase firm seller power over retailers and distributors and vi) leverage informational power asymmetries in relations with consumers. The typological framework is well-placed to inform general and jurisdiction-specific market strategy analyses of dominant processed food manufacturers, and has the potential to assist in identifying countervailing public policies, such as those related to merger control, unfair trading practices, and public procurement, that could be used to address market-power imbalances as part of efforts to improve population diets.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-04-2023
DOI: 10.1111/JOAC.12545
Abstract: A global transition towards diets increasingly dominated by ultra‐processed foods (UPFs) has occurred in recent decades to the detriment of public health and the environment. This study aimed to examine long‐term trends in the structure and market dynamics of the global UPF manufacturing industry as part of broader efforts to understand the drivers of this transition. Using erse methods, metrics and data sources, we examined several dimensions (e.g., industry concentration and profitability) according to an adapted structure–conduct–performance model. We found that the global UPF manufacturing industry has evolved to become a major component of global food systems, with its longstanding dominant corporations becoming some of the system's largest accumulators of profit and distributors of capital. It follows that reversing the global UPF dietary transition will require structural and regulatory changes to ensure that population diets, and food systems more broadly, are not subordinated to the interests of powerful for‐profit business corporations.
No related grants have been discovered for Benjamin Wood.