Synergy of health cost, globalization and good health: Evidence from emerging economies

Abstract

This study evaluates the influence of healthcare expenditures and globalization on health outcomes in BRICS nations from 2000 to 2023. Employing a fixed effects model (FEM), we analyze the impact of current health costs (CHC) and out-of-pocket expenditures (OPC) on good health (GH), while investigating the moderating influence of globalization (GL). The findings demonstrate that both CHC and OPC exert a positive and significant influence on GH, indicating that increased health expenditures enhance health outcomes. Globalization exerts a detrimental moderating influence on the correlation between health expenditures and positive health outcomes, indicating that globalization may introduce elements like economic volatility and inequality that diminish the efficacy of health spending. This study enhances the literature by including globalization into the Health Production Function model and providing novel insights into the issues encountered by emerging nations in optimizing health investments. Policy implications underscore the necessity for extensive healthcare changes that tackle both the immediate effects of health expenditure and the wider structural challenges shaped by globalization.