Democracies Invest More in Healthcare than Dictatorships

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https://www.ifo.de/en/node/68343

This effect is also evident after a regime change within a country. “Following a regime change from a dictatorship to a democracy, government health spending increases by about 15 to 20 percent. In the opposite case, healthcare spending falls significantly,” Dorn says. The change in public health spending becomes evident within a short period of time after a regime change. This correlation is not evident in the case of private healthcare spending by the general public.

“Democracies not only invest more, they also have higher-quality healthcare. Promoting democratic structures and institutions appears to be a key element in strengthening the resilience of health systems,” Dorn says. He adds that democratic governments are more interested in the health and welfare of their people than dictatorships. As a result, they invest more money in public health infrastructure and are eager to reduce inequalities in access to good health services.

The study was based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) covering public and private expenditure on healthcare in 151 countries in the period 2000–2015. The dataset used permitted an examination of the effects of political systems on healthcare spending both within countries and between them.

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