Tests of stationarity and cointegration of health care expenditure and gross domestic product: an application to Turkey

Abstract

This study examines the long-run relationship among the per capita private, public, and total health care expenditure and per capita gross domestic product and population growth of Turkey. We find some evidence of multivariate cointegrating relationships among the health care expenditure and gross domestic product, and population growth. We further find a bivariate cointegrating relationship between private health care expenditure and per capita gross domestic product. Accordingly, a 10% increase in gross domestic product would translate into a 21.9% increase in total health care expenditure while controlling population growth. The income elasticity of health expenditure is found to be greater than 1, implying that health care is a luxury good in Turkey. Finally we note that there exists one-way causality running from per capita gross domestic product to various definitions of health care expenses.