Health and Economic Growth in Iran based on Spatial Econometrics Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we have investigated the relationship between health and economic growth, for 28 provinces of Iran using spatial econometrics method. Also we have examined the provincial spatial spillover. First, we find that “health expenditure to GDP†has a negative effect and “number of hospital beds per capita†has a positive effect, and both are significant. Second, we find that there is no strong evidence of the existence of spatial spillover effects. The findings imply the improper allocation of resource in health sector.

Keywords: Economic Growth, Health, Spatial spillover.