The influence of health on economic growth from the perspective of sustainable development: a case of OECD countries

Author(s):  
Seda Yıldırım ◽  
Durmus Cagri Yildirim ◽  
Hande Calıskan

PurposeThis study aims to explain the role of health on economic growth for OECD countries in the context of sustainable development. Accordingly, the study investigates the relationship between health and economic growth in OECD countries.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed cluster analysis and econometric methods. By cluster analysis, 12 OECD countries (France, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Belgium, Portugal, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, South Korea, Poland and Slovakia) were classified into two clusters as high and low health status through health indicators. For panel threshold analysis, the data included growth rates, life expectancy at birth, export rates, population data, fixed capital investments, inflation and foreign direct investment for the period of 1999–2016.FindingsThe study determined two main clusters as countries with high health status (level) and low health status (level), but there was no threshold effect in clusters. It was concluded that an increase in the life expectancy at birth of countries with higher health status had no significant impact on economic growth. However, the increase in the life expectancy at birth of countries with lower health status influenced economic growth positively.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used data that including period of 1999–2016 for OECD countries. In addition, the study used cluster analysis to determine health status of countries, and then panel threshold analysis was preferred to explain significant relations.Originality/valueThis study showed that the role of health on economic growth can change toward country groups as higher and lower health status. It was proved that higher life expectancy can influence economic growth positively in countries with worse or low health status. In this context, developing countries, which try to achieve sustainable development, should improve their health status to achieve economic and social development at the same time.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Song ◽  
Chenbin Zheng ◽  
Jiangquan Wang

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic is still raging, which calls for an exploration of how to prevent and control pandemics to promote sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of the digital economy in sustainable development, the relationship between the two, the impacts of the outbreak on economic and social development, and changes in China's digital economy.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the time-series data from 2002 to 2019 and an unconstrained VAR model to examine the relationship between the digital economy and sustainable development before the pandemic.FindingsChina's digital economy has promoted the country's sustainable economic and social development; it has advanced rapid economic growth, improved people's living standards, increased efficient utilization of resources, and strengthened environmental protection.Research limitations/implicationsAmid the pandemic, China's digital economy developed effectively; it showed strong resilience because of its unique advantages. The digital economy in China has helped the country to control the pandemic in a short period, reduced the risk of supply chain disruption, promoted China's economic growth, and ensured the orderly operation of society. Therefore, countries worldwide are encouraged to prioritize their digital economies.Originality/valueCompared with the extant literature, this study explores the sustainable supply chain in a broader sense in the context of a pandemic, and how the supply chain is influenced by the digital economy. It not only includes the stability, resilience, and viability of the supply chain in economic development but also involves aspects of people's life, resource utilization, and environmental protection.


Author(s):  
Mariana Imaz ◽  
Claudia Sheinbaum

Purpose In September 2015, the UN member states approved an ambitious agenda toward the end of poverty, the pursuit of equity and the protection of the planet in the form of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. The purpose of this paper is to raise a concern about the context and framework that science, technology and innovation have in the finalized text for adoption that frames the SDGs especially regarding environmental degradation. The authors argue that emphasizing technology transfer in the agenda has the risk to do not recognize other technological alternatives such as eco-technologies, and endorse a limited vision of the role of science and innovation in the achievement of the SDGs. Science for sustainability has to go further than technology transfer, even questioning the limits of the current patterns of intensive use of natural resources and inequity in consumption. By discussing the historical backgrounds of this paradigm and elaborating on the role of science to achieve sustainability in a broader sense. It is in these terms that inter- and intra-discipline and the roles of researchers in sustainability transitions acquire relevance. Design/methodology/approach Although many theories regarding human development are in place and under discussion, the dominant view, reflected in the UN agreement, is that the progress of a country can be measured by the growth in the per capita gross domestic product. This variable determines if a society is able to reduce poverty and satisfy its basic needs for present and future generations (Article 3: United Nations (UN), 2015). Progress and economic growth in several aspects of human development has been substantial over the past 40 years. However, at the same time, the state of the environment continues to decline (UNEP, 2012). The obvious inquiry of these opposing trends is whether progress irremediably comes at the cost of environmental degradation. In 1972, the Club of Rome’s report entitled “Limits to growth” (Meadows et al. 1972) confronted the viability of perpetual economic growth. The report alerted of the impossibility of endless growth in population and production in a finite planet (Gómez-Baggethun and Naredo, 2015). The essay forecasted future crises of food and energy if the population and economic growth continued to grow at the same rate of the first half of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, the catastrophic projections were not met, mostly because of great advances in agriculture, water and energy technologies. Findings The SDGs constitute a relevant international recognition of the importance of the three edges of sustainable development. However, the pathways toward the achievement of the SDGs need to fully recognize that poverty, inequalities and global environmental problems are expressing a deeper crisis in the shape of economic growth, patterns of production and consumption and, in general, the logic of no limits in the exploitation of natural resources (Sheinbaum-Pardo, 2015). For this reason, the science of sustainability requires a deep understanding of the technological change and that technology is not the only approach toward sustainability. Research limitations/implications The paper reflects a conceptual discussion of the narrow vision of science and technology in the SDGs and their UN framework. The most important objective in the UN documents is technology transfer. This has the risk to do not recognize other technological alternatives such as eco-technologies, and endorse a limited vision of the role of science and innovation in the achievement of the SDGs. Practical implications An important discussion of the key points regarding SDGs is developed. Social implications “Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development (UN, 2015)” presents a narrow vision and a limiting role to the science of sustainability. Moreover, if these issues are not recognized, the achievement of the SDGs will continue to gain only marginal success. Originality/value It brings out a very important discussion of the role of science and technology in the ambitious UN agenda of the SDGs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Olufunmilayo Olayemi Jemiluyi ◽  
Abayomi Ayinla Adebayo

This study examines the gender-disaggregated effect of health status on the growth trajectory of sub-Saharan Africa region. The renewed interest in the health status – economic growth nexus stems from the increasing recognition of the importance of health and gender roles in achieving economic growth and sustainable development, particularly in the developing regions of sub-Saharan Africa characterized by poor health, gender inequality and low growth. Health status is proxy by gender-disaggregated data on life expectancy at birth. The study employs the generalized method of moment (GMM) modelling technique, and the result shows that there is gendered differences in the effect of health status on the economic growth process of sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, we find that female life expectancy is positively associated with economic growth. Thus, the study recommends that efforts aimed at promoting health wellbeing in the region should be enhanced. In particular, policies geared towards bridging the gender gap in health should be enacted and implemented.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Berglund ◽  
Niklas Gericke

The economic dimension is one of the central perspectives in both sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The role of the economy in sustainable development has been discussed extensively over the years and different views exist about how economic activities affect other sustainability dimensions. How young people view the relationships among economic perspectives and sustainable development seems to be an underemphasized perspective in sustainability education and underexplored in the field of sustainability education research. This study uses cluster analysis, which is an explorative approach, to identify and analyze young peoples’ views of the relationships between economic growth, economic development and sustainable development. Six hundred and thirty eight students (age 18–19) from 15 schools across Sweden responded to a questionnaire probing (1) views on these relationships, and (2) their environmental consciousness. Four clusters of students differing in their views on the economy in sustainable development were identified in the analysis: un-differentiating positive, nuanced ambivalent, two-way convinced, and critical. Further analysis indicated that some groups differed in their perception of the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Implications of these findings are discussed from the perspective of education for sustainable development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Monterubbianesi ◽  
Martín Grandes ◽  
Carlos Dabús

Over the last two decades, the role of health as a determinant of growth has been gaining ground in economic analysis due to longer average life expectancy at birth or lower infant mortality experienced in developing and fast-growing emerging economies. The empirical approach to this problem, based primarily on econometric analysis, has focused on two alternative approaches; the growth accounting models and the ?a la Barro? regressions. This study aims to measure the contribution of health to economic growth using a panel of 91 countries over the period 1960-2005, and to compare the estimated impact of better health status on long-run per capita income under those two approaches, controlling for potential endogeneity. Our main results show the marginal effect of the change in health status in the long-term income lies between 2.6% in the growth accounting models and 8.3% in the ?a la Barro? regressions. These results are consistent with the marginal effects we simulate and quantify using the health-growth point estimates found in earlier literature.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Song Ying ◽  
Daniele Leone ◽  
Antonella Francesca Cicchiello ◽  
Antonella Francesca Cicchiello ◽  
Amirreza Kazemikhasragh

Purpose The economic shock posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak brought out a worldwide public health emergency with a close relationship between the industrial marketing practices, the health level of society and its economic development. The purpose of this study is to analyse the industrial dynamics in health care and their impact on economic growth and health status. Design/methodology/approach To empirically investigate the relationship between growth and health, the authors use a data set drawn from 29 selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 2000 and 2019. Using panel regressions, the authors investigate the impact of the health-care industry measured in terms of health status, health expenditure, sales on pharmaceutical products, the number of persons working in health care and the coverage by private health insurances. Fixed effect and random effect regressions are used to estimate this model. Findings Overall, the results are suggestive of a nexus between the industrial marketing dynamics of health-care context and economic growth – both interacting and improving each other. As the quality of the health-care market enhances, the economy grows richer and the health status of the population improves considerably. Practical implications To support health-care markets in OECD countries, health policymakers need to formulate a long-term industrial health policy that addresses all the social and individual determinants of health. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to provide a better understanding of the relationship between health-care industrial dynamics and economic growth in OECD countries along different dimensions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy O. Olatayo ◽  
Mayor Andrew ◽  
Moses C. Ekperiware

The study examined the interrelationship among economic growth, environmental pollution and human health for Sustainable Development (SD) in Nigeria. This was to contribute to the dynamic debate of how human and economic activities relate and interrelate with environmental pollution in measuring sustainable development in Nigeria. This study further sought to verify the Environmental Kuznet Curve Hypothesis in Nigeria.The study employed the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to investigate linear and interrelationship mainly among life expectancy at birth, economic growth and environmental pollution in Nigeria from 1970-2015. Since the variables have unit root and revealed that there is at least a cointegrating equation in the model, the VECM become a more appropriate model for the study.The VECM Impulse Response Function (IRF) result indicated that economic growth increased environmental degradation in the long run and environmental degradation on the other way round reduced economic growth in most of the period of the study. The VECM system conditional forecast of 10%, 20% and 26% from 2000 to 2015 periods showed that a 10%, 20%, and 26% reduction forecasts of environmental pollution led to a consistent increased economic growth and life expectancy at birth of the country in the study. This indicated that a reduction in environmental pollution will improve the health of Nigerians and also enhance a sustainable development in the country.The study concluded that environmental degradation reduces economic growth while economic activities in the country increases environmental degradation in the country. From the conditional forecast, the study further concluded that efforts in reducing environmental pollution through policies and better environmental friendly economic activities will improves economic growth for sustainable development in the country.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-230
Author(s):  
Olufunmilayo Olayemi Jemiluyi ◽  
◽  
Ifeoluwa Alao-Owunna ◽  

It is tempting to say that the health status-economic growth literature in Nigeria is exhaustive due to the large body of extant studies. However, gaps exist on the gender perspective to the relationship between health status and economic growth in Nigeria as the literature largely examined the relationship at the aggregate. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the gender dimension to the health-economic growth nexus in Nigeria using gender-disaggregated data on longevity. Applying the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) to the time series for the period between 1981 and 2018, the findings suggest there is gendered difference in the effect of male and female life expectancy at birth on economic growth. Specifically, the results show that male life expectancy at birth is positively correlated to economic growth while there is evidence of a negative relationship between female life expectancy at birth and economic growth. Also, foreign investment and credit to private sector were found to be negatively correlated with economic growth while the urbanization rate was found to have economic growth premium in the study period.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar ◽  
Anil Kumar Kashyap

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify distinct segments of apparel shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation. The difference among the segments based on mall attractive dimension is also examined. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through mall intercept survey from the mall shoppers. Samples of 375 respondents are used for data analysis purpose. Exploratory factor analysis is used to extract the factors of fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions while K-means cluster analysis is applied to identify the segments. Findings This study resulted in three factors of fashion orientation of apparel shoppers, i.e. fashion involvement, variety seeking and economic value, and four factors of mall attractive dimensions: convenience, entertainment, atmosphere and architecture design. Based on these factors, this study came out with three distinct segments of fashion shoppers: pragmatic shoppers, variety seeking shoppers and highly fashioned shoppers. These three segments are attracted towards the mall dimension differently. Originality/value This paper presents the three distinct profiles of fashion shoppers based on their fashion shopping orientation and mall attractive dimensions. The findings of this study may help retailers and mall developers to target mall visitors appropriately.


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