Is It Possible to Describe a Kuznets Curve for Health Outcomes? An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the relationship between economic growth and health outcomes under the Kuznets curve (KC) hypothesis for 60 developing countries during the period 1995 to 2010 using unbalanced panel data method and the health production function model. The results show that the turning points and shapes of the health Kuznets curve (HKC) change based on the kind of health proxy variables, suggesting that there is not a specific HKC for health outcomes. Thus, health policies need to be "customized" for each health indicator and not standardized. Moreover, based on these results, health policies that ignore the detrimental effects of pollution may not deliver the full realizable health gains that could be derived from higher socioeconomic levels.