Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of inequality in health on economic growth in low and middle income countries.? The empirical part of the paper uses an original cross-national panel data set covering 62 low and middle income countries over the period 1985 to 2007. I find a substantial and relatively robust negative effect of health inequality on income levels and income growth controlling for life expectancy, country and time fixed-effects and a large number of other effects that have been shown to matter for growth. The effect also holds if health inequality is instrumented to circumvent a potential problem of reverse causality. Hence, increasing access to health care for the poor can make a substantial contribution to economic growth not only through its effect on life expectancy but also through its effect on reduced health inequality.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | The Hague |
| Publisher | International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2010 |
Publication series
| Series | ISS working papers. General series |
|---|---|
| Number | 501 |
Bibliographical note
JEL Classification: I18, I31, O11http://hdl.handle.net/1765/19426
This paper is part of a research project on ‘Differential Mortality and Welfare’. Financial support from the German Research Foundation (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank Bilisuma Bushi Dito and Kerstin Nolte for excellent research assistance
Research programs
- EUR-ISS-SGI
Series
- ISS Working Paper-General Series
