Top

International Journal of Public Health

Published in:

01-09-2015 | Original Article

Corruption and population health outcomes: an analysis of data from 133 countries using structural equation modeling

Authors: Roni Factor, Minah Kang

Published in: International Journal of Public Health | Issue 6/2015

Abstract

Objectives

The current study aims to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the antecedents of corruption and the effects of corruption on various health indicators.

Methods

Using structural equation models, we analyzed a multinational dataset of 133 countries that included three main groups of variables—antecedents of corruption, corruption measures, and health indicators.

Results

Controlling for various factors, our results suggest that corruption rises as GDP per capita falls and as the regime becomes more autocratic. Higher corruption is associated with lower levels of health expenditure as a percentage of GDP per capita, and with poorer health outcomes. Countries with higher GDP per capita and better education for women have better health outcomes regardless of health expenditures and regime type.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that there is no direct relationship between health expenditures and health outcomes after controlling for the other factors in the model. Our study enhances our understanding of the conceptual and theoretical links between corruption and health outcomes in a population, including factors that may mediate how corruption can affect health outcomes.

Aísa R, Clemente J, Pueyo F (2014) The influence of (public) health expenditure on longevity. Int J Public Health 59(5):867–875CrossRefPubMed

Akçay S (2006) Corruption and human development. Cato J 26:29

Muldoon KA et al (2011) Health system determinants of infant, child and maternal mortality: a cross-sectional study of UN member countries. Global Health 7:42

Arbuckle JL (1996) Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In: Marcoulides GA, Schumacker RE (eds) Advanced structural equation modeling: issues and techniques. Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp 243–277

Batley R, Mcloughlin C (2010) Engagement with non-state service providers in fragile states: reconciling state-building and service delivery. Dev Policy Rev 28(2):131–154CrossRef

Bentler PM, Chou CP (1987) Practical issues in structural modeling. Sociol Method Res 16(1):78–117. doi:10.1177/0049124187016001004 CrossRef

Byrne BM (2009) Structural equation modeling with AMOS: basic concepts, applications, and programming, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York

Chen F, Curran PJ, Bollen KA, Kirby J, Paxton P (2008) An empirical evaluation of the use of fixed cutoff points in RMSEA test statistic in structural equation models. Sociol Methods Res 36(4):462–494. doi:10.1177/0049124108314720 PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Collier MW (2002) Explaining corruption: an institutional choice approach. Crime Law Soc Ch 38(1):1–32. doi:10.1023/A:1019802614530 CrossRef

Dietrich S (2011) The politics of public health aid: why corrupt governments have incentives to implement aid effectively. World Dev 39(1):55–63. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.06.011 CrossRef

Factor R, Awerbuch T, Levins R (2013) Social and land use composition determinants of health: variability in health indicators. Health Place 22:90–97. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.04.001 CrossRefPubMed

Gakidou E, Cowling K, Lozano R, Murray CJ (2010) Increased educational attainment and its effect on child mortality in 175 countries between 1970 and 2009: a systematic analysis. Lancet 376(9745):959–974. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61257-3 CrossRefPubMed

Gupta S, Davoodi H, Alonso-Terme R (1998) Does corruption affect income inequality and poverty? IMF working paper no 79. International Monetary Fund, Washington

Gupta S, De Mello L, Saharan R (2001) Corruption and military spending. Eur J Polit Econ 17:749–777CrossRef

Gupta S, Davoodi HR, Tiongson E (2002) Corruption and the provision of health care and education services. In: Amed G, Gupta S (eds) Governance, corruption, and economic performance. International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC, pp 245–279

Holmberg S, Rothstein B, Nasiritousi N (2009) Quality of government: what you get. Annu Rev Polit Sci 12(1):135–161. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-100608-104510 CrossRef

Jain AK (2001) Corruption: a review. J Econ Surv 15(1):71–121CrossRef

Judge WQ, McNatt DB, Xu WC (2011) The antecedents and effects of national corruption: a meta-analysis. J World Bus 46(1):93–103. doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2010.05.021 CrossRef

Kassirer J (2006) The corrupting influence of money in medicine. Transparency International Global Corruption Report

Kaufmann D, Kraay A, Mastruzzi M (2007) Measuring corruption: myths and realities. In: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/9576/396030Measurin1ion0find27301PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed 11 June 2014

Kaufmann D, Kraay A, Mastruzzi M (2009) The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project. The World Bank

Kirigia JM, Diarra-Nama AJ (2008) Can countries of the WHO African Region wean themselves off donor funding for health? Bull World Health Organ 86(11):889–892PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Ko K, Samajdar A (2010) Evaluation of international corruption indexes: should we believe them or not? Soc Sci J 47(3):508–540. doi:10.1016/j.soscij.2010.03.001 CrossRef

Louise S (2005) The unholy trinity: transnational crime, corruption, and terrorism. Brown J World Aff 6(2):101–111

Mackey TK, Liang BA (2012) Combating healthcare corruption and fraud with improved global health governance. BMC Int Health Human Right 12(1):23CrossRef

Målqvist M, Hoa DTP, Thomsen S (2012) Causes and determinants of inequity in maternal and child health in Vietnam. BMC Public Health 12(1):641PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Marshall MG, Jaggers K, Robert Gurr T (2011) Polity IV project: political regime characteristics and transitions, 1800–2011. Dataset users’ manual. Center for Systemic Peace

Novignon J (2015) On the efficiency of public health expenditure in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does corruption and quality of public institutions matter? Munich Personal RePEc Archive, no 39195

Quintana SM, Maxwell SE (1999) Implications of recent developments in structural equation modeling for counseling psychology. Couns Psychol 27(4):485–527CrossRef

Rajkumar AS, Swaroop V (2008) Public spending and outcomes: does governance matter? J Dev Econ 86(1):96–111. doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2007.08.003 CrossRef

Rothstein BO, Teorell JAN (2008) What is quality of government? a theory of impartial government institutions. Governance 21(2):165–190. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0491.2008.00391.x CrossRef

Savedoff W, Hussmann K (2006) Why are health systems prone to corruption? Global Corruption Report 2006:4–16

Schaaf M, Freedman LP (2015) Unmasking the open secret of posting and transfer practices in the health sector. Health Policy Plan 30(1):121–130. doi:10.1093/heapol/czt091 PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed

Scott K, Powles J, Thomas H, Rechel B (2011) Perceived barriers to the development of modern public health in Bulgaria: a qualitative study. Int J Public Health 56(2):191–199. doi:10.1007/s00038-010-0140-9 CrossRefPubMed

Sequeira S (2012) Advances in measuring corruption in the field, vol 15. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK

Stipčić A, Ćorić T, Erceg M, Mihanović F, Kolčić I, Polašek O (2015) Socioeconomic inequalities show remarkably poor association with health and disease in Southern Croatia. Int J Public Health. doi:10.1007/s00038-015-0667-x PubMed

Stolen Asset Recovery (2007) Initiative: challenges, opportunities, and action plan. The World Bank, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, USA

Tanzi V (1998) Corruption around the world—causes, consequences, scope, and cures. Int Monet Fund Staff Pap 45(4):559–594CrossRef

The PRS Group (2012) International Country Risk Guide (ICRG). In: http://www.prsgroup.com/ICRG.aspx. Accessed December 2012

Transparency International (2006) Global corruption report 2006: corruption and health. Pluto Press, London

Transparency International (2012) CPI 2003. In: Transparency international. http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/cpi_2003. Accessed December 2012

Vian T (2008) Review of corruption in the health sector: theory, methods and interventions. Health Policy Plan 23(2):83–94. doi:10.1093/heapol/czm048 CrossRefPubMed

Westland JC (2010) Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation modeling. Electron Commer Res Appl 9(6):476–487. doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2010.07.003 CrossRef

World Bank (2011) World Development Indicators 2011. World Bank, USA

World Health Organization (2011) Causes of death 2008: data sources and methods. World Health Organization, Geneva

Title: Corruption and population health outcomes: an analysis of data from 133 countries using structural equation modeling
Authors: Roni Factor
Minah Kang
Publication date: 01-09-2015
Publisher: Springer Basel
Published in: International Journal of Public Health / Issue 6/2015
Print ISSN: 1661-8556
Electronic ISSN: 1661-8564
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0687-6

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Corruption and population health outcomes: an analysis of data from 133 countries using structural equation modeling

Abstract

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 6/2015

The influence of area-level education on body mass index, waist circumference and obesity according to gender

Mood and food at the University of Turku in Finland: nutritional correlates of perceived stress are most pronounced among overweight students

The mediating effect of daily nervousness and irritability on the relationship between soft drink consumption and aggressive behaviour among adolescents

Life course research: new opportunities for establishing social and biological plausibility

Healthy living practices in families and child health in Taiwan

Cardiovascular disease among people with drug use disorders