Is health capital formation good for long-term economic growth? - Panel Granger-causality evidence for OECD countries

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmacro.2009.06.003 Byline: Jochen Hartwig Keywords: Human capital; Health and growth; Panel Granger-causality tests Abstract: A large body of both theoretical and empirical literature has affirmed a positive impact of human capital accumulation in the form of health on economic growth. For rich countries, however, the existing empirical evidence is mixed. This paper revisits the question whether health capital formation stimulates GDP growth in rich countries applying a new empirical methodology: the panel Granger-causality framework. The results do not lend support to the view that health capital formation fosters long-term economic growth in the OECD area. Author Affiliation: ETH Zurich, Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich (KOF ETH), Weinbergstrasse 35, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland Article History: Received 17 October 2008; Accepted 8 June 2009