AIDS cuts life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa by a quarter

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of economic freedom on four key health indicators (namely, life expectancy, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate) by using a panel dataset of 34 sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2016.Design/methodology/approachThe study obtains data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) of the World Bank and the Fraser Institute. It uses fixed effects regression to estimate the effect of economic freedom on health outcomes and attempts to resolve the endogeneity problems by using two-stage least squares regression (2SLS).FindingsThe results indicate a favourable impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. That is, higher levels of economic freedom reduce mortality rates and increase life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa. All areas of economic freedom, except government size, have a significant and positive effect on health outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study analyses the effect of economic freedom on health at a broad level. Country-specific studies at a disaggregated level may provide additional information about the impact of economic freedom on health outcomes. Also, this study does not control for some important variables such as education, income inequality and foreign aid due to data constraints.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that sub-Saharan African countries should focus on enhancing the quality of economic institutions to improve their health outcomes. This may include policy reforms that support a robust legal system, protect property rights, promote free trade and stabilise the macroeconomic environment. In addition, policies that raise urbanisation, increase immunisation and lower the incidence of HIV are likely to produce a substantial improvement in health outcomes.Originality/valueExtant economic freedom-health literature does not focus on endogeneity problems. This study uses instrumental variables regression to deal with endogeneity. Also, this is one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between economic freedom and health in the case of sub-Saharan Africa.

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Macroeconomic Implications of Low Life Expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa Nations: A Panel Technique Approach

Social Sciences ◽

10.11648/j.ss.20180701.12 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 7

Author(s):

Popoola Oladayo Timothy

Keyword(s):

Life Expectancy ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Macroeconomic Implications

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The Role Of School Life Expectancy And Urbanization On Adult Literacy Rates In Sub-Saharan Africa

International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER) ◽

10.19030/iber.v13i2.8448 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 329

Author(s):

Amon Okpala ◽

Comfort Okpala

Keyword(s):

Life Expectancy ◽

Adult Literacy ◽

Percent Level ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

School Life ◽

African Countries ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

It is important to examine the role of urbanization, government, and school life expectancy (the years of schooling a child is expected to have) on adult literacy because literacy contributes to economic success. Using cross-sectional data on 46 Sub-Saharan African countries, this study examines 1) the impact of school life expectancy on adult literacy, 2) the influence of urban population on adult literacy, and 3) the effectiveness of government educational expenditure on adult literacy. OLS regression analysis showed that the percentage of the population residing in urban centers and the school life expectancy were positively significant at the 5 percent level. Government expenditure, as a percentage of GDP, was positively significant at the 1 percent level.

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On African Responsibility for Economic Problems

Issue A Journal of Opinion ◽

10.1017/s0047160700502546 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 50-53

Author(s):

Richard E. Mshomba

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Infant Mortality ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Mortality Rates ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

African Countries ◽

Economic Problems ◽

High Infant Mortality ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Poor Infrastructure

African countries, like many other developing countries, suffer the problems associated with poverty—malnutrition, poor health services, high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, high illiteracy rates, poor infrastructure, and inadequate technology. These problems are especially severe in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Disease, War, Hunger, and Deprivation: A Cross-National Investigation of the Determinants of Life Expectancy in Less-Developed and Sub-Saharan African Nations

Sociological Perspectives ◽

10.1525/sop.2012.55.3.421 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 421-447 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Kelly F. Austin ◽

Laura A. McKinney

Keyword(s):

Life Expectancy ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Structural Equation Models ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

National Life ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Developed Nations ◽

African Sample ◽

Cross National

Researchers note a recent trend of increasing inequality in cross-national life expectancy rates, largely due to conditions in the poorest of nations. Threats to life expectancy in less-developed nations include poverty, warfare, intense hunger, and disease, particularly AIDS/HIV. This article utilizes structural equation models for a sample of less-developed nations and a subsample of Sub-Saharan African nations to test interrelationships among predictors. Findings indicate modernization to be the most robust predictor of life expectancy across less-developed nations and HIV to be the strongest determinant of life expectancy in Sub-Saharan African nations. Somewhat surprisingly, warfare and hunger do not have direct impacts on life expectancy among less-developed nations; however, important linkages among warfare, hunger, and disease are evidenced in the Sub-Saharan African sample, along with a notable positive influence of modernization on HIV rates. The findings demonstrate the significance of HIV on cross-national life expectancy scores and illuminate unique dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Gender Differential Effects of Health Status on Growth Process in sub-Saharan Africa

Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies ◽

10.32996/jefas.2021.3.2.4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 35-42

Author(s):

Olufunmilayo Olayemi Jemiluyi ◽

Abayomi Ayinla Adebayo

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Health Status ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Growth Process ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Method Of Moment ◽

Life Expectancy At Birth ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

And Gender

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.

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A Panel Data Approach to the Measurement of Health Technical Efficiency of Sub-Saharan Africa

Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business ◽

10.1515/zireb-2015-0001 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elham Torkian

Keyword(s):

Panel Data ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Stochastic Production Frontier ◽

Life Expectancy At Birth ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Impact

Abstract This study investigates technical efficiency of health production function in Sub-Saharan Africa. For this purpose, a stochastic production frontier model is estimated using fixed-effects panel data method over the period of 2000-2007. More specifically the impact of economic, social, and environmental factors in determining life expectancy at birth, as the dependent variable, is measured and evaluated. Overall, the results justify the important role of policymakers, who their proactive approaches should be given to activities that go beyond the health system to influence the main determinants of health i.e. socioeconomic and environmental factors in preventing infectious diseases, improving life expectancy and aid populations to access available resources.

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HIV/AIDS, Life Expectancy, and the Opportunity Cost Model of Civil War

Journal of Conflict Resolution ◽

10.1177/0022002716628281 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 61 (10) ◽

pp. 2130-2157 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tyler Kustra

Keyword(s):

Civil War ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Civilian Life ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Hiv Aids

This article views death in battle as an opportunity cost whose size is determined by the number of years a rebel would have lived as a civilian. As civilian life expectancy declines, this opportunity cost does too, increasing the probability of rebellion. This theory is tested with a tragic natural experiment: the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Using male circumcision rates as an instrument for life expectancy, the analysis shows that a one-year increase in life expectancy decreases the probability of civil war by 2.6 percentage points. This supports the theory that opportunity costs are important determinants of conflict onset and that nonpecuniary opportunity costs should be taken into account. This article concludes by noting that cost–benefit analyses of public health interventions should include decreases in the probability of civil war, and the attendant benefits in terms of lives saved and material damage prevented, in their calculations.

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