IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jodepp/v1y2016i2p203-221.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Economic Freedom Influence Major Health Indicators in India? Cross-state Panel Estimation Results

Author

Listed:
  • Saleema Razvi
  • Debashis Chakraborty

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that inadequacies in public sector health systems can only be overcome by substantial structural and institutional reforms. In India, the need for reforms in the health sector has been highlighted and stressed upon in recent period. While there is a growing belief that public and private sectors in health can potentially gain from one another, there is also recognition that, given their respective strengths and weaknesses, neither the public sector nor the private sector alone can operate in the best interest of the health system. The current study attempts to analyse the impact of enabling environments measured by the economic freedom index in 20 Indian states on select healthcare outcomes, through a panel data model. The empirical results confirm that rise in economic freedom lowers maternal mortality and infant mortality, as the resulting conducive environment enables greater private sector participation. However, the crucial role to be played by the public sector is also underlined in no uncertain terms. The obtained results strongly indicate that the health scenario in India can improve only through closer co-ordination between the public and the private sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Saleema Razvi & Debashis Chakraborty, 2016. "Does Economic Freedom Influence Major Health Indicators in India? Cross-state Panel Estimation Results," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 1(2), pages 203-221, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jodepp:v:1:y:2016:i:2:p:203-221
    DOI: 10.1177/2455133316648052
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2455133316648052
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2455133316648052?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Victoria Fan & Anup Karan & Ajay Mahal, 2012. "State health insurance and out-of-pocket health expenditures in Andhra Pradesh, India," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 189-215, September.
    2. Carlsson, Fredrik & Lundstrom, Susanna, 2002. "Economic Freedom and Growth: Decomposing the Effects," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 112(3-4), pages 335-344, September.
    3. Mukherjee, Sacchidananda & Chakraborty, Debashis & Sikdar, Satadru, 2014. "Three Decades of Human Development across Indian States: Inclusive Growth or Perpetual Disparity?," Working Papers 14/139, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    4. Richard Cebula & Fabrizio Rossi & Jeff Clark, 2016. "The impact of higher quality government regulation of business and greater economic freedom on living standards," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 82-94, April.
    5. Victoria Fan, Anup Karan, and Anjay Mahal, 2012. "State Health Insurance and Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditures in Andhra Pradesh, India - Working Paper 298," Working Papers 298, Center for Global Development.
    6. Nelson, Michael A & Singh, Ram D, 1998. "Democracy, Economic Freedom, Fiscal Policy, and Growth in LDCs: A Fresh Look," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(4), pages 677-696, July.
    7. Stroup, Michael D., 2007. "Economic Freedom, Democracy, and the Quality of Life," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 52-66, January.
    8. Sacchidananda Mukherjee & Debashis Chakraborty, 2009. "Environment, human development and economic growth: a contemporary analysis of Indian states," International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(1/2), pages 20-49.
    9. Gehring, Kai, 2012. "Benefit or burden? Unraveling the effect of economic freedom on subjective well-being," Working Papers 0531, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    10. Mukherjee, Sacchidananda & Chakraborty, Debashis, 2010. "Is there any relationship between Economic Growth and Human Development? Evidence from Indian States," MPRA Paper 22997, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Herbert G. Grubel, 1998. "Economic Freedom and Human Welfare: Some Empirical Findings," Cato Journal, Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 18(2), pages 287-304, Fall.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Deepak Kumar Behera & Umakant Dash, 2020. "Is health expenditure effective for achieving healthcare goals? Empirical evidence from South-East Asia Region," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 593-618, June.
    2. Arvind Kumar Yadav & Susanta Nag & Pabitra Kumar Jena & Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, 2021. "Determinants of Antenatal Care Utilisation in India: A Count Data Modelling Approach," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 6(2), pages 210-230, July.
    3. Marson, Marta & Migheli, Matteo & Saccone, Donatella, 2022. "Free to Die: Economic Freedoms and Influenza Mortality," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202210, University of Turin.
    4. Anand Sharma & Vipin Sharma & Shekhar Tokas, 2022. "Institutional quality and health outcomes: evidence from the EU countries," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 70-78.
    5. Marson, Marta & Migheli, Matteo & Saccone, Donatella, 2023. "Free to die: Economic freedoms and influenza mortality," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olalekan Charles Okunlola & Anthony E. Akinlo, 2021. "Does economic freedom enhance quality of life in Africa?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 68(3), pages 357-387, September.
    2. Olalekan C. Okunlola & Olumide A. Ayetigbo, 2022. "Economic Freedom and Human Development in ECOWAS: Does Political-Institutional Strength Play a Role?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 1751-1785, September.
    3. Doucouliagos, Chris & Ulubasoglu, Mehmet Ali, 2006. "Economic freedom and economic growth: Does specification make a difference?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 60-81, March.
    4. Kešeljević, Aleksandar & Spruk, Rok, 2013. "Global distribution and dynamics of economic freedom: Non-parametric approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 560-571.
    5. Hali̇l İbrahi̇m Aydin & Omer Yalcinkaya, 2017. "Effects Of The Economic Freedoms On The Economic Growth: Evidence From The Eu And Comcec Countries (1996-2015)," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 3, pages 12-25, June.
    6. Judit Kapás & Pál Czeglédi, 2007. "Economic Freedom: Theory First, Empiricism After," ICER Working Papers 10-2007, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    7. ADEBOLA, Olukemi Grace, 2020. "Universal Health Coverage In Nigeria And Its Determinants: The Case Of National Health Insurance Scheme," Academic Review of Humanities and Social Sciences, Bursa Teknik Üniversitesi, vol. 3(1), pages 97-111.
    8. José Manuel Cabello & Francisco Ruiz & Blanca Pérez-Gladish, 2021. "An Alternative Aggregation Process for Composite Indexes: An Application to the Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 443-467, January.
    9. Priyanka Rent & Soumitra Ghosh, 2015. "Understanding the “Cash-Less†Nature of Government-Sponsored Health Insurance Schemes," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, November.
    10. Marson, Marta & Migheli, Matteo & Saccone, Donatella, 2022. "Free to Die: Economic Freedoms and Influenza Mortality," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202210, University of Turin.
    11. Burcu ŞENALP, 2018. "Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth and Economic Freedom: A Literature Survey," Istanbul Journal of Economics-Istanbul Iktisat Dergisi, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 68(2), pages 301-336, December.
    12. Emily Gustafsson-Wright & Gosia Popławska & Zlata Tanović & Jacques Gaag, 2018. "The impact of subsidized private health insurance and health facility upgrades on healthcare utilization and spending in rural Nigeria," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 221-276, September.
    13. Gehring, Kai, 2013. "Who Benefits from Economic Freedom? Unraveling the Effect of Economic Freedom on Subjective Well-Being," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 74-90.
    14. Christian Bjørnskov & Nicolai Foss, 2010. "Economic Freedom and Entrepreneurial Activity: Some Cross-Country Evidence," Springer Books, in: Andreas Freytag & Roy Thurik (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Culture, chapter 0, pages 201-225, Springer.
    15. Bodo Knoll & Hans Pitlik & Martin Rode, 2013. "Economic Freedom, Money and Happiness – Why Deregulation Matters Beyond its Wealth Enhancing Effect," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(2), pages 35-42, 07.
    16. Kubickova Marketa, 2016. "The Role of Government in Tourism: Linking Competitiveness, Freedom, and Developing Economies," Czech Journal of Tourism, Sciendo, vol. 5(2), pages 73-92, December.
    17. Arindam Nandi & Ashvin Ashok & Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2013. "The Socioeconomic and Institutional Determinants of Participation in India’s Health Insurance Scheme for the Poor," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(6), pages 1-13, June.
    18. Azam, Mehtabul, 2018. "Does Social Health Insurance Reduce Financial Burden? Panel Data Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-17.
    19. Mohd Zuhair & Ram Babu Roy, 2022. "Eliciting relative preferences for the attributes of health insurance schemes among rural consumers in India," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 443-458, December.
    20. Humphreys, Brad & Maresova, Katerina & Ruseski, Jane, 2012. "Institutional Factors, Sport Policy, and Individual Sport Participation: An International Comparison," Working Papers 2012-1, University of Alberta, Department of Economics.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:jodepp:v:1:y:2016:i:2:p:203-221. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.