AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN EASTERN STATES OF INDIA

Abstract

This study examines a comparative analysis of the trend and pattern of healthcare expenditure in four major eastern states of India. The study is completely built on secondary sources of data from 1991 to 2020 taken from the RBI Database, the World Bank Database and various governmental reports. The study has used descriptive statistics, Log-linear regression, least square trend and graphical methods for analysis. This study shows the percentage share of total health expenditure to GSDP has an increasing trend. According to the regression analysis, health spending has a strong favourable effect on GSDP in the four eastern states of India. A rise in the state of health helps to accomplish the maximum productive capacity of human capital and thereby increase the productivity of market structure. So, sound health plays an significant role in the economic growth and development of a nation. This paper makes the case that governments should take immediate steps to produce alternative income from different sources including foreign grants and alternative tax revenue.