The political economy of austerity and healthcare:Cross-national analysis of expenditure chan-ges in 27 European nations 1995-2011

VernacularTitle:政治经济紧缩与卫生服务--基于1995-2011年27个欧洲国家费用变化的跨国分析
Author: Reeves AARON ; Mckee MARTIN ; Basu SANJAY ; Stuckler DAVID
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Political economy; Austerity; Recession; IMF; Healthcare
From: Chinese Journal of Health Policy 2014;(4):73-80
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Why have patterns of healthcare spending varied during the Great Recession? Using cross-national, harmonized data for 27 EU countries from 1995 to 2011, we evaluated political, economic, and health system deter-minants of recent changes to healthcare expenditure. Data from Euro Stat, the IMF, and World Bank (2013 editions) were evaluated using multivariate random-and fixed-effects models, correcting for pre-existing time-trends. Reductions in government health expenditure were not significantly associated with magnitude of economic recessions. Nor did ideology of governing parties have an effect. In contrast, each $100 reduction in tax revenue was associated with a$2. 72 drop in health spending. IMF borrowers were significantly more likely to reduce healthcare budgets than non-IMF borrowers, even after correcting for potential confounding by indication. Exposure to lending from international financial institutions, tax revenue falls, and decisions to implement cuts correlate more closely than underlying eco-nomic conditions or orientation of political parties with healthcare expenditure change in EU member states.