Role of Environmental Degradation, Institutional Quality, and Government Health Expenditures for Human Health: Evidence From Emerging Seven Countries

Abstract

The current study investigates the association of various economic, non-economic, governance, and environmental indicators on human health for seven emerging economies. Covering the period from 2000Q1 to 2018Q1, this study uses various panel data approaches for empirical estimations. The data is found first-order stationary. Besides, the panel slope is heterogeneous and cross-sectional dependence is present. Further, the cointegration association is found valid among the variables. Therefore, panel quantile regression is used to determine the long-run impact of each explanatory variable on human health at four quantiles (Q25, Q50, Q75, and Q90). The estimated results asserted that economic growth, government health expenditure, and human capital significantly reduce human health disasters like malaria incidences and cases. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions and regulatory quality are significantly and positively correlated to human health issues in emerging economies. Moreover, mixed (unidirectional and bidirectional) causal associations exist between the variables. This study also provides relevant policy implications based on the empirical results, providing a path for regulating various economic, environmental, and governance sectors. Effective policy implementation and preventive measures can reduce the spread of diseases and mortality rates due to Malaria.