Disaggregating Health Spending: The Role of Corruption Control and Health Budget Composition on Public Health in Pakistan

Abstract

This paper addresses the issues related to the diverse impacts of disaggregated health spending and corruption control on national health outcomes within the context of Pakistan. The health expenditure, differentiated into preventive, curative, and administrative categories, has made the research, to some extent, detailed in the manner in which specific elements of these budgets influence health indicators, such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and under-five mortality. The analysis, based on panel data of national and provincial health accounts from 2005 to 2022, using fixed and random effects models, indicates that preventive health expenditure has a very positive impact on the health state, as measured by life expectancy and child mortality. On the other hand, the curative and administrative costs have either a less significant or negative impact, or are inconsistent. It has also been established that the successful management of corruption is positively correlated to all the expected indicators of enhanced health performance. However, the fact that corruption, as indicated by the interaction effect of corruption control on health budget composition, significantly impairs the effectiveness of health spending in areas with high corruption levels. These findings suggest that greater transparency and investment in preventive care are necessary to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3 in Pakistan.