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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research

An impact of economic slowdown on health. New evidence from 21 European countries

Authors: Paweł Prędkiewicz, Agnieszka Bem, Rafał Siedlecki, Milena Kowalska, Marlena Robakowska

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

The economic slowdown affects the population's health. Based on a social gradient concept, we usually assume that this detrimental impact results from a lower social status, joblessness, or other related factors. Although many researchers dealt with the relationship between economy and health, the findings are still inconsistent, primarily related to unemployment. This study reinvestigates a relationship between the economy's condition and health by decomposing it into macroeconomic indicators.

Methods

We use data for 21 European countries to estimate the panel models, covering the years 1995–2019. Dependent variables describe population health (objective measures – life expectancy for a newborn and 65 years old, healthy life expectancy, separately for male and female). The explanatory variables primarily represent GDP and other variables describing the public finance and health sectors.

Results

(1) the level of economic activity affects the population’s health – GDP stimulates the life expectancies positively; this finding is strongly statistically significant; (2) the unemployment rate also positively affects health; hence, increasing the unemployment rate is linked to better health – this effect is relatively short-term.

Conclusions

Social benefits or budgetary imbalance may play a protective role during an economic downturn.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
We use, in all models, the variable current health expenditures (CHE). As the international databases cover this variable starting from 2000, the missing observations for the years 1995–1999 were estimated based on the ratio CHE/THE in the year 2000 and THE. Finally, the level of CHE for 1995–1999 is a percentage of THE estimated separately for each country.
 
2
Models without lags are estimated for the timespan 2000–2019 to keep the results comparable.
 
3
Estimation based on the timespan t = 2000–2019.
 
4
When we exclude from the analysis the variable GOV_BAL it reveals a positive effect of SOC_BEN on health.
 
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Metadata
Title
An impact of economic slowdown on health. New evidence from 21 European countries
Authors
Paweł Prędkiewicz
Agnieszka Bem
Rafał Siedlecki
Milena Kowalska
Marlena Robakowska
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13740-6

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