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The relationship between corruption and chronic diseases: evidence from Europeans aged 50 years and older

Author

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  • Lorenzo Ferrari

    (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
    John Cabot University)

  • Francesco Salustri

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

Objectives Do people living in more corrupted countries report worse health? We answer this question by investigating the relationship between country-level corruption and the number of chronic diseases for a sample of Europeans aged above 50. Methods We link a rich panel dataset on individual health and socio-demographic characteristics with two country-level corruption indices, analyse the overall relationship with pooled ordinary least squares and fixed-effect models, explore heterogeneous effects driven by country and individual factors, and disentangle the effect across different public sectors. Results Individuals living in more corrupted countries suffer from a higher number of chronic diseases. The heterogeneity analysis shows that (1) health outcomes are worsened especially for respondents living in relatively low-income countries; (2) the health of females and people with poor socio-economic status is more affected by corruption; (3) the corruption–health negative link mainly occurs for cardiovascular diseases and ulcers; (4) only corrupted sectors linked with healthcare are associated with poorer health. Conclusions We inform the policy debate with novel results in establishing a nexus between corruption and morbidity indicators.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Ferrari & Francesco Salustri, 2020. "The relationship between corruption and chronic diseases: evidence from Europeans aged 50 years and older," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(3), pages 345-355, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijphth:v:65:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s00038-020-01347-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01347-w
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    2. Bukari, Chei & Seth, Suman & Yalonetkzy, Gaston, 2024. "Corruption can cause healthcare deprivation: Evidence from 29 sub-Saharan African countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    3. Bukari, Chei & Seth, Suman & Yalonetkzy, Gaston, 2024. "Corruption can cause healthcare deprivation: evidence from 29 sub-Saharan African countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122806, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. 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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