Sociodemographic determinants of health care expenditure: micro level evidence of a fast-growing developing country

Purpose - The objective of this study is to examine the sociodemographic factors that are associated with health care expenditure among households in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach - This study examines health care participation decision and amount of expenditure using the exponential Type 2 Tobit model. A dataset of a large sample (n = 14,838) that is nationally representative is used. Findings - The results suggest that household size, location of residence as well as age, education and marital status of the household heads are significantly associated with household expenditure on health care. Health care expenditure increases with the age and educational attainment of household heads, whereas those who are being employed and residing in rural areas have lower health care expenditure. Although larger households are more likely to consume health care than smaller households, they spend less on health care. Furthermore, marital status does not affect the participation decision of health care expenditure, but the variable is associated with the decision on the amount of the expenditure. Practical implications - The results provide insights into groups of population that can be targeted for healthcare intervention programmes and policy design. Originality/value - This study is the first to our knowledge to use a microeconometric approach to analyse the health care participation as well as its level of expenditure among households in Malaysia.