Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analytically explore and empirically test the relationship of state capacity with health outcomes using cross sectional and panel datasets of 156 countries from 1970 to 2015. This study uses three dimensions of state capacity namely amount, ability and position. The empirical analysis is conducted using OLS, 2SLS, Fixed Effects, Random Effects and System GMM. Overall results suggest that the role of state capacity is essential in boosting life expectancy and lowering infant mortality. Moreover, the results show that state capacity in terms of ‘ability’ has the largest impact on health outcomes while in terms of ‘position’ its effect is limited. Findings of the study are robust to different specifications, to alternative econometric techniques, and to regional controls. This research paper contributes the literature on health performance differences across countries by highlighting the heterogeneity of state capacity dimensions in shaping the links of state capacity with health outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, it is first study of its kind that provides an empirical analysis of life expectancy with state capacity. Moreover, this study uses Principal Components Analysis of different measures of state capacity and confirms the essential role of state capacity in improving health outcomes. The main implication of this research is that building state capacity is an essential prerequisite to achieve high health outcomes
Muhammad Tariq Majeed, Seemab Gillani. (2017) State Capacity and Health Outcomes: An Empirical Analysis, Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, Volume 11, Issue 2.
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