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Corruption costs lives: evidence from a cross-country study

Author

Listed:
  • Qiang Li

    (Southwest University for Nationalities)

  • Lian An

    (University of North Florida)

  • Jing Xu

    (University of North Florida)

  • Mina Baliamoune-Lutz

    (University of North Florida)

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of corruption on health outcomes by using cross-country panel data covering about 150 countries for the period of 1995 to 2012. We employ ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed-effects and two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimation methods, and find that corruption significantly increases mortality rates, and reduces life expectancy and immunization rates. The results are consistent across different regions, gender, and measures of corruption. The findings suggest that reducing corruption can be an effective method to improve health outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiang Li & Lian An & Jing Xu & Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, 2018. "Corruption costs lives: evidence from a cross-country study," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(1), pages 153-165, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:19:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10198-017-0872-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-017-0872-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Tadadjeu, Sosson & Njangang, Henri & Asongu, Simplice A. & Kamguia, Brice, 2023. "Natural resources, child mortality and governance quality in African countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Maria-Teresa Novo-Molinero & Teresa Morla-Folch & Laureano Jimenez Esteller & Silvia Molina Roldan & Aitor Gomez Gonzalez, 2024. "Impacting life expectancies of incarcerated people through dialogic scientific gatherings and dialogic scientific workshops in prisons," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Vu, Trung V., 2020. "Economic complexity and health outcomes: A global perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    6. Kyriacou, Andreas & Roca-Sagalés, Oriol, 2023. "Fiscal Decentralization and Health Care Access and Quality: Evidence from Local Governments Around the World," MPRA Paper 116860, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Jelnov, Artyom & Jelnov, Pavel, 2022. "Vaccination policy and trust," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Monica Violeta Achim & Viorela Ligia Văidean & Sorin Nicolae Borlea, 2020. "Corruption and health outcomes within an economic and cultural framework," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(2), pages 195-207, March.
    9. Drichoutis, Andreas C. & Grimm, Veronika & Karakostas, Alexandros, 2020. "Bribing to Queue-Jump: An experiment on cultural differences in bribing attitudes among Greeks and Germans," MPRA Paper 102775, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. 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.
    11. Jamie M. Sommer, 2020. "Corruption and Health expenditure: A Cross-National Analysis on Infant and Child Mortality," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(3), pages 690-717, July.
    12. Li, Qiang & An, Lian & Zhang, Ren, 2023. "Corruption drives brain drain: Cross-country evidence from machine learning," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    13. Qiang Li & Lian An, 2020. "Corruption Takes Away Happiness: Evidence from a Cross-National Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 485-504, February.
    14. Bernadette O'Hare & Steve G. Hall, 2022. "The Impact of Government Revenue on the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Amplification Potential of Good Governance," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 14(2), pages 109-129, June.
    15. Oana-Ramona Socoliuc (Guriță) & Nicoleta Sîrghi & Dănuţ-Vasile Jemna & Mihaela David, 2022. "Corruption and Population Health in the European Union Countries—An Institutionalist Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-20, April.
    16. Krisztina Gero & Daniel Kim, 2020. "Prospective associations between US state-level corruption and individual-level cardiovascular risk factors among middle-aged Americans: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youths 1979," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(9), pages 1737-1748, December.
    17. Văidean, Viorela Ligia & Achim, Monica Violeta, 2022. "When more is less: Do information and communication technologies (ICTs) improve health outcomes? An empirical investigation in a non-linear framework," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    18. Simona Laura Dragos & Codruta Mare & Cristian Mihai Dragos & Gabriela Mihaela Muresan & Alexandra-Anca Purcel, 2022. "Does voluntary health insurance improve health and longevity? Evidence from European OECD countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(8), pages 1397-1411, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corruption; Lives; Health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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