Crowding-Out or Crowding-In: Government Health Investment and Household Consumption

This paper explores the relationship of government health investment and household consumption by applying a panel fixed effects model and Sobel-Goodman mediation tests to inland Chinese provinces. The empirical results highlight that government health investment has a crowding-in effect and can thus promote household consumption. Furthermore, the promotion effect on non-medical health consumption is greater than that on medical health consumption. The promotion effect of government health investment on rural household consumption is higher than that on urban household consumption, and the promotion effect on household consumption for northern provinces is higher than that in southern provinces. This heterogeneous effect is closely related to the difference between urban and rural development; and the economic levels of the northern and South regions. The mediation tests found that government health investment mainly promotes regional economic growth, and then increases household consumption. In the economic and social development process, the government should implement more effective medical and health care measures to increase social medical and health investment to improve the consumption level of households.

Performance, Technology and Human Capital

This study examines technology inclusion, education investment, health investment and economic growth in Indonesia using secondary data from world banks processed quantitatively using the moving average autoregression method. We find that investment in health, investment in education, and technology inclusion are positively related to economic growth. This shows that in Indonesia it is in accordance with the solow growth theory where technology in Indonesia has a positive impact along with Indonesia's human capital.

Population Aging, Health Investment and Economic Growth: Based on a Cross-Country Panel Data Analysis

With the economic development of various countries and the deepening of population aging, health plays an increasingly important role in the macro-economy. How to meet the growing health needs as well as promote the economy has captured the attention of the world. Therefore, whether health investment can promote economic growth is an important theoretical and practical issue. An extended Mankiw–Romer–Weil model (MRW) with human health capital and population aging is employed to examine the impact on economic growth from population aging and health investment. On the basis of the theoretical model, this paper uses the LSDV and TSLS methods to carry out an empirical study based on cross-country panel data during the period 2000–2016. The empirical results show that health investment plays a significant role in promoting economic growth, and there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between population aging and economic growth. The impacts on economic growth from health investment and population aging can weaken each other. In addition, this paper also finds that health investment structure and the proportion of government health investment to total government spending can affect economic growth.

Healthcare as a Health Investment

This chapter explores healthcare as an investment and the geopolitical implications of healthcare in Africa. The importance of healthcare as a tool of diplomacy is documented and acknowledged. According to Li, the West and China have common interests in Africa regarding economic development and environmental protection. China, Africa, and Western countries must discuss effective methods for increasing cooperation on the continent together. But their interest can sometimes be contradictory in different aspects of the continent. Healthcare is the crossroads of their geo-political implications in Africa. As the PRC evolves from a poor country to a superpower, Africa has become the testing ground for soft power diplomacy via economic development and healthcare.

Simulating the Fiscal Impact of Anti-Obesity Medications as an Obesity Reduction Strategy

While substantial public health investment in anti-smoking initiatives has had demonstrated benefits on health and fiscal outcomes, similar investment in reducing obesity has not been undertaken, despite the substantial burden obesity places on society. Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) are poorly prescribed despite evidence that weight loss is not sustained using other strategies alone. We used a simulation model to estimate the potential impact of 100% uptake of AOMs on Medicare and Medicaid spending, disability payments, and taxes collected relative to status quo with negligible AOM use. Relative to status quo, AOM use simulation would result in Medicare and Medicaid savings of $231.5 billion and $188.8 billion respectively over 75 years. Government tax revenues would increase by $452.8 billion. Overall, the net benefit would be $746.6 billion. Anti-smoking efforts have had substantial benefits for society. A similar investment in obesity reduction, including broad use of AOMs, should be considered.