A comparative study on the effect of health expenditure and air pollution on economic growth in developed and developed countries

Health expenditures and environmental pollution are indicators of development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of health per capita costs and the impact of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) as an indicator of environmental pollution on the growth of selected developed and developing countries. The effect of health expenditures and air pollution on economic growth was studied based on the data of two groups of developed and developing countries (2000-2015) and the use of econometric methods. The fitting of the equations confirmed the significant effect of the health expenditure per capita and CO2 emission on the economic growth of both groups of countries. One percent change in these expenditures resulted in 0.029 percent economic growth in the developed countries and 0.054 percent in the developing. Also, the effect of CO2 release on the economic growth was -0.011 and -0.073. Health has a direct impact on economic growth. Health has a positive effect on the economic growth by reducing health costs (and spending these resources in other areas) and by increasing labor productivity through increasing life expectancy and useful work time. Also, increasing air pollution has a negative effect on the economic growth of these countries.