The Impact of Internet Usage and Knowledge-Intensive Activities on Households' Healthcare Expenditures.

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of the internet usage and knowledge intensive activities on households’ healthcare expenditures Similarly, the paper aims to recognize and understand, from a value-creation perspective, the correlation between: internet access of households (IA), individuals frequently using the internet (IU), individuals searching on internet for health-related information (HI), payments made by households for healthcare (PHH), expressed as euro per inhabitant and employment in knowledge-intensive activities (KIA). The approach utilized in the present study consists of two steps. First, a theoretical framework was conducted to determine the existing relationship between major variables. Next, the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) approach was applied in a case study at European level to prove the three hypothesis we consider. By analyzing the connection between the major variables, a positive and long- lasting impulse response function was revealed, followed by an ascending trend. This suggests that a self-multiplying effect is being generated; and it reasonable to assume that the more individuals use the Internet, the more electronic acquisitions occur. We can thus reasonably conclude that the improvement of the internet usage and knowledge intensive activities on households’ healthcare expenditures process is strongly dependent on people’s capability. Improving IU and KIA is the new reading key in the decision-making process in health system approach.