Markets and health in the home of Smith and Yunus

‘Markets’ and ‘health’ are often seen as contradictions in terms. Strong economic cases have been made for ‘treasures’ such as the UK National Health Service to be publicly-funded. This does not preclude participation in market mechanisms as a determinant of health. With new ways being sought to combat health inequalities, we outline how microcredit might also act as one such measure, especially if aimed at improving material circumstances amongst the least-welloff. A framework for evaluating such interventions is suggested, bringing new dimensions into the ‘evaluation space’ for microcredit and similar social business ventures.