Mutlu Hatice, Bozkurt Gözde, Türkoğlu Mesut Can
Department of Health Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Beykent University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Istanbul Beykent University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Iran J Public Health. 2024 Jan;53(1):145-156. doi: 10.18502/ijph.v53i1.14691.
Economic convergence signifies diminishing income disparities among global or regional economies and their eventual disappearance. It is also linked to economic growth and key health indicators. We aimed to assess the association between economic convergence and key health indicators in developed countries called G7 (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada).
We examined G7 health and economic indicators from 2000 to 2021 using panel data analysis. We compared balanced and unbalanced panel datasets to address missing data and applied suitable methods to handle missing health indicators.
Little's MCAR test ( = 3.2872, - = 0.3494) confirmed random missing data in the unbalanced panel, enabling us to impute missing values as missing observations were below 5%. Unit root tests on balanced and unbalanced panel data validated the health convergence hypothesis, showing no unit roots in economic growth rate, current health expenditure, and female and male population indicators (<0.05). Interestingly, the hypothesis for hospital bed counts in the unbalanced panel, differing from the balanced panel, offers new insights into addressing incomplete health data.
While G7 have economic similarities, their health indicators diverge (excluding hospital bed counts). Variations in health indicators stem from healthcare system structures, funding mechanisms, resource allocation, and health investments, even among economies of similar size. Therefore, G7 member states should develop tailored national health policies based on their specific circumstances and priorities, utilizing economic convergence data for effective health resource planning.
经济趋同意味着全球或区域经济体之间的收入差距不断缩小并最终消失。它还与经济增长和关键健康指标相关联。我们旨在评估被称为七国集团（美国、英国、德国、法国、意大利、日本和加拿大）的发达国家经济趋同与关键健康指标之间的关联。
我们使用面板数据分析研究了2000年至2021年七国集团的健康和经济指标。我们比较了平衡和不平衡面板数据集以处理缺失数据，并应用合适的方法来处理缺失的健康指标。
利特尔的MCAR检验（卡方 = 3.2872，自由度 = 0.3494）证实了不平衡面板中存在随机缺失数据，由于缺失观测值低于5%，这使我们能够对缺失值进行插补。对平衡和不平衡面板数据进行的单位根检验验证了健康趋同假设，表明经济增长率、当前卫生支出以及女性和男性人口指标中不存在单位根（<0.05）。有趣的是，不平衡面板中病床数量的假设与平衡面板不同，为处理不完整的健康数据提供了新的见解。
虽然七国集团在经济上具有相似性，但它们的健康指标存在差异（不包括病床数量）。即使在规模相似的经济体中，健康指标的差异也源于医疗保健系统结构、资金机制、资源分配和健康投资。因此，七国集团成员国应根据其具体情况和优先事项制定量身定制的国家卫生政策，利用经济趋同数据进行有效的卫生资源规划。
