The determinants and effects of health expenditure in developed countries.
Previous studies of international differences in health spending have been restricted to the use of relatively small samples of cross-sectional data. Our objective here is to re-examine the results of previous work using a sample of 560 pooled time-series and cross-section observations. Results confirm the importance of GDP as a determinant of health spending, with an estimated income elasticity at or around unity, but also suggest that OECD countries should not be regarded as a single, homogeneous group. The importance of some non-income variables is also confirmed, although the direct effect of these factors appears to be small.
University of York, UK.
T
T
Hitiris
J
J
Posnett
D001315:Australia; D002170:Canada; D003132:Commerce / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005060:Europe; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007564:Japan; D016014:Linear Models; D017059:Models, Econometric; D009026:Mortality; D014481:United States