Empirical evidence from a few selected emerging economies on the impact of governance and health spending on health outcomes

Abstract

Background: Adverse effects of weak governance on health, is a serious policy subject matter for policymakers, health experts, and researchers. Therefore, this study examines the effect of governance and health expenditure on under-five and adult mortality in emerging economies between 2000 and 2016. Methods: Employing data from World Bank World Development Indicators, the study applied panel procedures namely cross-sectional dependence test, Westerlund cointegration, and cross-section augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) panel unit root test that can deal with the effects of cross-sections in the series. The study examined the long-run relationship between governance and health outcomes by using the panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and the fixed effects model for a robust check. Results: The Westerlund cointegration confirmed that the variables are cointegrated. The panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and the fixed effects estimation results show that poor governance (corruption) induces adult mortality in most of the panels. However, good governance (political stability) reduces mortality among children under five and adults in all four panels. Conclusion: The study supports the hypothesis that governance has inordinate consequences on under-five and adult mortality and therefore it has a huge impact on the health outlook of a population. The findings indicate that health expenditure and urbanization affect health outcomes in lower, upper, and high-income countries in changing economies. Different policy implications are therefore offered based on the study outcome.