Economic Growth And Health Outcomes In Subsahara Africa

Abstract

This study examines the effect of economic growth on health outcomes of Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) annual panel times series data was used on Economic Growth (GDP), Health Outcomes (HOC), Green Investment (GIN) and Carbon Emission (CO2) from 1990 to 2023. Cross-Sectional Dependency test, Fixed Effect (FE) and panel pairwise Granger causality techniques were employed for the analysis. The result of crosssectional dependency shows the evidences of cross-sectional dependencies among both economic growth and health outcomes in SSA. However, the fixed effect result revealed that economic growth has effect on health outcomes (HOC) with coefficient -0.199 and probability value 0.000 meaning that 1% decreased in economic growth (GDP) will worsen the health outcomes by 0.199 per annum Likewise, Dumitrescu and Hurlin Granger causality test result show the existence of bidirectional causality between economic growth and health outcomes over the period of the study. Finally, based on the findings the study recommends following policies to improve the health outcomes for sustainable growth: Sub-Saharan African stakeholders should establish an effective economic block for inclusive growth and sustainable development, Countries should review their fiscal policies measures for regulations of carbon emission to achieve a desirable health outcome in SSA, SSA governments commission for green investment in order to encourage the green investment partnerships and globalization for sustainable development.