The Relationship Between Health and Economic Growth in Turkey: ARDL Bounds Testing Approach

Finance, Policy and Economic Interpretations. 2015. Vol. 52. No. 604. P. 43–55.

Cömertler Şimşir N., Çondur F., Bölükbaş M., Alatas S.

The development of human capital as important as physical capital in ensuring sustainable economic growth and development. Education and health constitutes two key elements of human capital. An increase in the level of health extends the life span of individuals and increases the quality of life. It increases investment because of increased savings with longer life expectancy, thus positively affects economic growth. Productivity growth of healthy individuals also make a positive impact on economic growth. On the other hand, healthy individuals increase the expected return from education. In this study, the effects of health on economic growth were investigated using ARDL limit test approach. According to the results, short and long-term relationship between the variables were determined. According to the obtained coefficients in the long term, a negative correlation has been found between the share of total health expenditure in GDP, the crude death rate and the number of physicians per thousand people and economic growth. According to short-term results, there was a negative correlation between the current share of total health expenditure in GDP and economic growth

Keywords: economic growth, health, ARDL