How Do Trade Openness and Public Expenditures Affect Health Status in OIC Member Countries? An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of trade openness and public expenditures on health status in OIC member countries. Panel data of 47 OIC member countries from 1991 to 2017 is taken from the World Development Indicators (WDI). The econometric results are estimated using GMM technique to avoid the endogeneity issue in panel data analysis. The results reveal that trade openness, public health expenditures, public education expenditures and economic growth are positively and significantly correlated with life expectancy in overall OIC countries and high income OIC countries. GDP is negatively and significantly correlated with life expectancy in low income OIC countries. Trade openness, public health expenditures, public education expenditures and GDP are negatively and significantly correlated with infant mortality rate in overall OIC countries and high income OIC countries. GDP has positively and significantly correlated with infant mortality rate in low income OIC countries.