What Drives Healthcare Expenditure Growth? Evidence from Central and Eastern European Economies

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of healthcare expenditure in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. The study covers the period between the years 2000 and 2018. In our research, we implement error correction based on an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, with focus on the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator. Our estimation results revealed that, in combination, health spending, income, medical progress, population ageing and fiscal capacity together form a statistically significant and stable long-term economic relationship. Our analysis indicates that healthcare spending responds to both short-term and long-term income changes. The obtained results support the prevailing view that health should not be considered a luxury good with an income elasticity close to unity. In the long term, medical progress and population ageing also significantly influence health spending, whilst these variables prove to be insignificant over the short term. Ultimately, government capacity is positively related to health spending dynamics.

Managerial Aspect of Private Health Care Institutions in the Republic of Croatia at the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic

“…This proves that the public and private health care systems are complementary as the number of patients grows and the needs for diagnosis and treatment increase from year to year. A similar situation is present in several Central and Eastern European countries (Konatar, 2021). Source: Fina (Financial agency).…”

https://hrcak.srce.hr/294970

“…Central and Eastern European countries are sharing similar social and economic heritage, as well as a common experience of socio-economic transition (Konatar et al, 2021), which has reflected in the health systems. Since the early 1990s, the health care sectors in CEE have been in a state of more or less permanent change (Mihaljek, 2008).…”

The Impact of Health Capital on Economic Growth in the Balkan Countries

“…Health systems in most Balkan countries are characterized by mandatory national health insurance, while most healthcare institutions are publicly owned (Dankó et al, 2014). During communism, health systems were based on universal health coverage, which proved difficult to preserve; thus, many countries tried to rationalize publicly funded health services through patient cost-sharing or decreasing the scope of basic benefits (Konatar et al, 2021). However, while major improvements in European health systems occurred during the last 30 years, most countries of the Balkan region are lagging, with health sectors operating dysfunctionally (Levett & Kyriopoulos, 2006).…”