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Health and economic development—evidence from the introduction of public health care

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  • Anthony Strittmatter
  • Uwe Sunde

Abstract

This paper investigates the causal effect of improvements in health on economic development using a long panel of European countries. Identification is based on the particular timing of the introduction of public health care systems in different countries, which is the random outcome of a political process. We document that the introduction of public health care systems had a significant immediate effect on health dynamics proxied by infant mortality and crude death rates. The findings suggest that health improvements had a positive effect on growth in income per capita and aggregate income. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

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  • Anthony Strittmatter & Uwe Sunde, 2013. "Health and economic development—evidence from the introduction of public health care," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(4), pages 1549-1584, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:26:y:2013:i:4:p:1549-1584
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-012-0450-8
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    4. Xiang Kang & Mingxi Du & Siqin Wang & Haifeng Du, 2022. "Exploring the Effect of Health on Migrants’ Social Integration in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-20, April.
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    6. Föllmi, Reto & Minsch, Rudolf & Schnell, Fabian, 2016. "What Determines Price Changes and the Distribution of Prices? Evidence from the Swiss CPI," Economics Working Paper Series 1610, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    7. Gallardo-Albarrán, Daniel, 2018. "Health and economic development since 1900," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 228-237.
    8. Yueming Zheng & Yaqian Chen, 2023. "Influence of healthy human capital and environmental regulation on green total factor productivity in China," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 82(3), pages 241-261, May.
    9. Théophile Azomahou & Bity Diene & Mbaye Diene & Luc Soete, 2015. "Optimal health investment and preference structure," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 60(3), pages 521-565, November.
    10. Ignacio Amate-Fortes & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda & Agustin Molina-Morales, 2017. "Economic and Social Determinants of Human Development: A New Perspective," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 561-577, September.
    11. Fabian Siuda & Uwe Sunde, 2021. "Disease and demographic development: the legacy of the plague," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-30, March.
    12. Stefan Bauernschuster & Anastasia Driva & Erik Hornung, 2020. "Bismarck’s Health Insurance and the Mortality Decline [Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(5), pages 2561-2607.
    13. Yang Song & Wenkai Sun, 2016. "Health Consequences of Rural‐to‐Urban Migration: Evidence from Panel Data in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(10), pages 1252-1267, October.
    14. Ahsan, Henna & Idrees, Dr Muhammad, 2014. "Impact of Health on Earnings: Individual and District Level Analysis for Pakistan," MPRA Paper 56769, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Jun 2014.
    15. Amina Shahid & Hafiz Muhammad Abubakar Siddique & Rabia Liaqat, 2019. "Human Health and Foreign Direct Investment Nexus: Evidence from South Asia," Asian Development Policy Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 7(3), pages 209-218, September.
    16. Mohammad Mazharul Islam & Mohammad Nazrul Islam Mondal & Haitham Khoj, 2023. "Effects of Health Factors on GDP Growth: Empirical Evidence from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-22, May.
    17. Raffaela Giordano & Sergi Lanau & Pietro Tommasino & Petia Topalova, 2020. "Does public sector inefficiency constrain firm productivity? Evidence from Italian provinces," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 27(4), pages 1019-1049, August.
    18. Saad, Suhaila & Mohamed Nor, Norashidah, 2018. "Health Expenditure and Economic Development in Low-and Middle-Income Countries," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(3), pages 181-189.
    19. Bernard Sarpong & Edward Nketiah-Amponsah & Nkechi S. Owoo, 2020. "Health and Economic Growth Nexus: Evidence from Selected Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Countries," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(2), pages 328-347, April.
    20. Fretz Stephan & Gorgas Christoph, 2015. "Regionaler Nutzen von Verkehrsinfrastruktur-Erweiterungen: Evidenz vom Schweizer Autobahnnetz," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 16(15), pages 57-71, March.
    21. Olawumi Dele Awolusi, 2021. "Economic Growth and Socioeconomic Sustainability in BRICS Countries: A Vector Error Correction Modeling Approach," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23.
    22. Zhang, Jianhong, 2022. "Liability of emergingness and EMNEs’ cross-border acquisition completion: A legitimacy perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2).
    23. Muhammad Arshad & Faisal Abbas & Harald Kächele & Yasir Mehmood & Nasir Mahmood & Klaus Mueller, 2022. "Analyzing the Impact of Government Social Spending, Population Growth and Foreign Remittances on Human Development in Pakistan: Implications for Policy," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1607-1626, June.
    24. Lee Yong-Shik, 2015. "Call for a New Analytical Model for Law and Development," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 1-67, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health; Mortality; Economic development; Growth; Public health systems care; I10; J10; O11; N13;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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