ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH EXPENDITURE, RENEWABLE ENERGY AND LIFE EXPECTANCY: EVIDENCE FROM ASIAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between health expenditures, renewable energy and life expectancy in Asian countries within a model covering the period 2000-2020. GDP data are also included in the model. In the study, after applying cross-sectional dependence test and Cross-sectional Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root tests, panel cointegration test is employed to show whether there is a long-run mutual relationship between health expenditures and other variables, and then Dumitrescu-Hurlin (2012) panel causality analysis method is used to test the causality between the relevant variables in Asian countries. According to the empirical findings, while causality is found between health expenditures and renewable energy in most of the Asian countries, there is also a high level of causality between life expectancy and health expenditures. Moreover, the cointegration test between health expenditures and other variables confirms that there is a long-run relationship between the variables. It is concluded that policy makers in Asian economies should develop policy frameworks that provide opportunities for renewable energy consumption and support investment in renewable energy projects to promote the use of clean technologies. Thus, an increase in renewable energy consumption can lead to economic prosperity by not only improving quality of life but also increasing productivity.