Health Expenditure Modelling in Southeast of Iran: A Population-Based Setting Using Quantile Regression Perspective

Abstract

Background: Equity in health is the focus of attention in the world health circles in recent decades. The financing of household health expenditure is, therefore, a concern in any region.

The Effect of Business Cycles on Health Expenditure: A Story of Income Inequality in China

“…However, there are some differences between emerging economies and developed economies in political, economic, and cultural aspects (35)(36)(37), and business cycles may have different effects on health expenditure. Second, most studies have discussed the counter-cyclical or pro-cyclical effects of business cycles on health expenditure from the following perspectives, such as medical affordability (6)(7)(8), environmental quality (9-13), universal healthcare (15), aging population (15), and population health (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). However, we find nearly no related studies that explore the above relationship from the role of income inequality.…”

“…Some literature claims that health expenditure is pro-cyclical with business cycles ( 3 – 5 ). For example, Bedir ( 6 ), Payandeh et al ( 7 ), and Kumar et al ( 8 ) point out that the increase of residents' disposable income during boom periods guarantees their ability to pay for medical needs, resulting in more increases in health expenditure. Badulescu et al ( 9 ), Haseeb et al ( 10 ), Wang et al ( 11 ), Mujtaba and Shahzad ( 12 ), and Urhie et al ( 13 ) claim that economic booms are associated with worse environmental quality, which in turn results in lower population health and more expenditure on health.…”

“…That is, economic booms lead to more health expenditure, while recessions have a negative effect on health expenditure. The studies also have stated that there are many reasons for the above situations, such as medical affordability (6)(7)(8) and environmental quality (9)(10)(11)(12)(13). However, some scholars have claimed that the link between business cycles and health expenditure varies with the income level.…”

Economic Boom and Busts Lead to Human Capital Changes? Evidence From Health Expenditure Changes in Emerging Economies

“…A thorough assessment of the existing literature suggests that the impact of economic booms and busts on healthcare expenditure is still ambiguous and inconclusive. Experts argue that in periods of economic booms, people have higher disposable incomes, which improves their ability to cover medical expenses, which increases the overall expenditure on healthcare (6,(8)(9)(10). Furthermore, it has also been established that due to the rapid economic activity in periods of booms, the environmental quality deteriorates, which in turn takes a toll on public health, leading to increased expenditure on health (18)(19)(20).…”

“…This argument hypothesizes that healthcare expenditure will increase in times of economic booms while declining during recessions (7). Some plausible arguments include the affordability of medical services and the impact on the environment (8,9), which may lead to the deteriorating health of the populace (10).…”