Effects of Health Care Expenditure on the Infant Mortality Rate and Life Expectancy at Birth in Korea

Abstract

This study examines whether the infant mortality rate and life expectancy at birth are affected by health care expenditure in Korea. It can be provisionally concluded that the infant mortality rate tends to be affected by the health system itself in the long-run, whereas life expectancy at birth is immediately affected by health-related facilities such as the number of physicians and number of hospital beds in the short-run. Therefore, the health-related system should be well established to improve the infant mortality rate. On the contrary, physical capital such as life-prolonging medical technologies has to be accumulated to improve life expectancy at birth.