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Does inequality in health impede economic growth?

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  • Michael Grimm

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, reducing inequality in the access to health care and to health-related information can make a substantial contribution to economic growth. Copyright 2011 Oxford University Press 2011 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

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  • Michael Grimm, 2011. "Does inequality in health impede economic growth?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 63(3), pages 448-474, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:63:y:2011:i:3:p:448-474
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oep/gpr002
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. David Mayer-Foulkes, 2013. "A Cross-country Causal Panorama of Human Development and Sustainability," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 235-251, May.
    2. Molina, Ezequiel & Narayan, Ambar & Saavedra-Chanduvi, Jaime, 2013. "Outcomes, opportunity and development : why unequal opportunities and not outcomes hinder economic development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6735, The World Bank.
    3. Celia Dana BESCIU & Armenia ANDRONICEANU, 2017. "The link between social inequalities, health’ system characteristics and R&D expenditure- worldwide evidence," Romanian Statistical Review, Romanian Statistical Review, vol. 65(2), pages 21-41, June.
    4. Thi Mai Hoai Bui & Xuan Vinh Vo & Duy Tung Bui, 2018. "Gender inequality and FDI: empirical evidence from developing Asia–Pacific countries," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(3), pages 393-416, December.
    5. Narayan, Ambar & Saavedra-Chanduvi, Jaime & Tiwari, Sailesh, 2013. "Shared prosperity : links to growth, inequality and inequality of opportunity," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6649, The World Bank.
    6. David Mayer-Foulkes, 2011. "A Causal Panorama of Cross-Country Human Development," DEGIT Conference Papers c016_049, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    7. Forster, Timon & Kentikelenis, Alexander E. & Stubbs, Thomas H. & King, Lawrence P., 2020. "Globalization and health equity: The impact of structural adjustment programs on developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    8. Peter Hangoma & Arild Aakvik & Bjarne Robberstad, 2017. "Explaining changes in child health inequality in the run up to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): The case of Zambia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Hamid NoghaniBehambari & Farzaneh Noghani & Nahid Tavassoli, 2021. "Early-life Income Shocks and Old-Age Cause-Specific Mortality," Papers 2101.03943, arXiv.org.
    10. Jorge José Luis Reynoso-González. & Adrián De León Arias., 2021. "Crecimiento económico y gasto público en salud según población objetivo en México. (Economic Growth and Public Spending on Health According to Target Population in Mexico)," Ensayos Revista de Economia, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Economia, vol. 0(1), pages 89-114, May.
    11. Frankovic, Ivan & Kuhn, Michael, 2019. "Access to health care, medical progress and the emergence of the longevity gap: A general equilibrium analysis," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).

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