TITLE:
Dynamic Linkages between Health and Wealth in the European Union
AUTHORS:
George Konteos, Constantinos Katrakilidis, Kyriaki Sotiriadou
KEYWORDS:
Infant Mortality Rate, Income, Panel Data Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.8 No.4,
March
8,
2018
ABSTRACT: The relationship of health and wealth has been for
long the subject of academic research as well
as a hot policy issue. In this paper
we examine this relationship using data on infant mortality rate and real GDP
per capita for the 28 European Union countries over the period 1960-2012. The
long-run and short run
dynamics of the relationship are examined through panel co-integration tests,
error correction models and Granger causality tests. The empirical analysis
reveals the existence of a long-run negative relationship between GDP and
infant mortality. In the short-run there are bidirectional causal effects
between the two variables. In summary, the two variables affect each other in a
spiral way.