Government health expenditures, economic growth, biocapacity and life expectancy in the G-7 countries: evidence from panel data analysis (2000–2023)
- 1Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Economics, Gümüşhane University, Gümüşhane, 29100, Türkiye
- 2Department of Economics, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
- 3Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia; UNEC Research Center for Global Environmental Problems, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Baku, Azerbaijan; Université de Lorraine, CEREFIGE, F-57000 Metz, France; Corresponding author.
Abstract
In terms of human development, countries’ expenditure on health and education is becoming increasingly important with each passing day. The achievement of the sustainable development goal is closely influenced by the interdependence between the environment, energy and health sectors. In this context, many countries view healthcare as a fundamental human right, given its ability to extend and improve the quality of life of individuals, in their pursuit of sustainable development goals. This study examines the relationship between overall government health expenditure and indicators of life expectancy at birth, economic growth and biocapacity in the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US) for the period 2000–2023. The random coefficient model shows that the impact of independent variables on healthcare expenditure can vary from country to country. In France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan, the life expectancy variable is positive and significant. This result indicates that the increase in life expectancy has raised healthcare expenditure, particularly in these countries. Whilst economic growth was found to influence healthcare expenditure in all countries except the UK, this effect is positive in Japan but negative in the other countries. Improvements in biocapacity, however, have a negative impact on healthcare expenditure in all countries except Italy. The study distinguishes itself by selecting biocapacity-defined as nature’s ability to absorb pollution-thereby offering an assessment through a more comprehensive indicator that extends towards the level of environmental resilience
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BibTeX
@article{akyol2026government,
title = {{Government health expenditures, economic growth, biocapacity and life expectancy in the G-7 countries: evidence from panel data analysis (2000–2023)}},
author = {Mehmet Akyol and Hikmet Gülçin Beken and Mohamed Djafar Henni and Kamel Si Mohammed},
journal = {Environmental Challenges},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.envc.2026.101693},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2026.101693},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Government health expenditures, economic growth, biocapacity and life expectancy in the G-7 countries: evidence from panel data analysis (2000–2023)
AU - Mehmet Akyol
AU - Hikmet Gülçin Beken
AU - Mohamed Djafar Henni
AU - Kamel Si Mohammed
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Environmental Challenges
DO - 10.1016/j.envc.2026.101693
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envc.2026.101693
AB - In terms of human development, countries’ expenditure on health and education is becoming increasingly important with each passing day. The achievement of the sustainable development goal is closely influenced by the interdependence between the environment, energy and health sectors. In this context, many countries view healthcare as a fundamental human right, given its ability to extend and improve the quality of life of individuals, in their pursuit of sustainable development goals. This study examines the relationship between overall government health expenditure and indicators of life expectancy at birth, economic growth and biocapacity in the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US) for the period 2000–2023. The random coefficient model shows that the impact of independent variables on healthcare expenditure can vary from country to country. In France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan, the life expectancy variable is positive and significant. This result indicates that the increase in life expectancy has raised healthcare expenditure, particularly in these countries. Whilst economic growth was found to influence healthcare expenditure in all countries except the UK, this effect is positive in Japan but negative in the other countries. Improvements in biocapacity, however, have a negative impact on healthcare expenditure in all countries except Italy. The study distinguishes itself by selecting biocapacity-defined as nature’s ability to absorb pollution-thereby offering an assessment through a more comprehensive indicator that extends towards the level of environmental resilience
SN - 2667-0100
ER -