This publication brings together the final reports from three research projects that explored how investments in health affected economic growth, household productivity, and poverty alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects were carried out in 1998 and 1999, and came about through the coordinated efforts of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United NAtions Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC), and the World Bank