Is Healthier Wealthier? Evidence from Member Countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
This paper examines the association between a variety of health indicators and GDP growth rates over the period 1972-2011, using a balanced panel dataset consisting of seven members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), excluding Afghanistan. We explicitly accounted for interactions between survival rates and lagged GDP levels as well as endogeneity issues. The findings revealed that the survival rate and other health indicators are positively associated with GDP growth. Accordingly, investments that promote improvements in health outcomes in South Asian countries could potentially accelerate economic development in the region.
