Government Health Expenditure and Health Outcomes in Nigeria: The Challenge to Underdeveloped Economy
- January 11, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue XII, December 2018 | ISSN 2454–6186
Samuel B. Adewumi, Yakubu A. Acca, Olumuyiwa Afolayan
Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
Abstract:-The analysis aimed at examining the impact of government health expenditure on health outcomes in Nigeria. The research employed government health expenditure per capita to proxy government expenditure and neonatal mortality, child mortality and infant mortality rate to proxy health outcomes in Nigeria. Other control variables used in the model include private health expenditure per capita, per capita income, numbers of physician and life expectancy. The unit root result shows that the variables were stationary at first difference. Also, the Engel granger cointegration test carried out shows a long-run relationship among the variables of interest. The result shows that government health expenditure per capita have positive relationship with neonatal mortality rate, child mortality rate and infant mortality rate in Nigeria. Private health expenditure, numbers of physicians and life expectancy shows a negative relationship with neonatal mortality, child and infant mortality rate in Nigeria. The implication of this finding is that private sector has greater influence on health outcomes than the public sector which means that health services will be obtained at a high cost in Nigeria. Also, with the principle of excludability inherent in private sector means that Nigeria cannot achieve social optimal in her health care services. We therefore recommend that there should be proper monitoring of government funds, subsidy to the private sector, improvement in the working conditions of health workers and the provisions of basic necessities to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.
Key words: Government health expenditure, Health outcomes, Neonatal mortality, child mortality and infant mortality.
Jel classification: H51, I14
I. INTRODUCTION
Better health care is a primary human need (Starfield, Shi, and Macinko, 2005). Since 1970’s, the non-income dimension of economic performance and development has been promoted through various basic needs and the composite physical quality of life index (Bérenger and Verdier-Chouchane, 2007
