DOES BETTER INCOME DISTRIBUTION REDUCE INFANT MORTALITY? THE CASE OF TURKEY

Öz

While the linkage between economic conditions and health indicators is largely discussed previously, much less is known about how income inequality affects the infant mortality rates (IMR) in Turkey. Using a city-level data from 2014 to 2019 estimates the impact of income inequality and socio-economic factors on infant mortality rates. To identify what factors are associated with the IMRs, the ordered probit, the random effect, and the fixed effect approaches are used. An endogeneity problem between the IMRs and independent variables which are related to medical factors is predicted. To tackle down the endogeneity problem, an instrumental variable approach is used. The estimation results show that income inequality is an important factor which has impact on infant mortalities. The results confirm that there is an inverse association between health service availability and infant mortality rates.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• : Healthcare
• Panel Data Analysis
• Health Economics
• Infant Mortality

GELİR DAĞILIMININ BEBEK ÖLÜM HIZI ÜZERİNE ETKİSİ: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ

Öz

Ekonomik koşullar ve sağlık göstergeleri arasındaki bağlantı daha önce büyük ölçüde tartışılırken, gelir eşitsizliğinin Türkiye'deki bebek ölüm oranlarını (IMR) nasıl etkilediği hakkında görece sınırlı sayıda çalışma yer almaktadır. Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de gelir eşitsizliğinin IMR üzerindeki etkisini tahmin etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu doğrultuda, 2014-2019 yılları arasında şehir düzeyinde bir veri setinin kullanılması ile gelir eşitsizliği ve sosyo-ekonomik faktörlerin bebek ölüm oranları üzerindeki etkisini analiz etmektedir. Bebek ölüm oranları üzerinde hangi faktörlerin ilişkili olduğunu belirlemek için Probit, Rassal etki ve sabit etki yöntemleri kullanılmaktadır. Bebek ölüm oranları ile bağımsız değişkenler olarak modelde yer alan tıbbi faktör arasında bir içsellik sorunu tahmin edilmektedir. İçsellik sorununun çözümü için araç değişken yaklaşımı kullanılmaktadır. Tahmin sonuçları, gelir eşitsizliğinin sağlık sonuçları üzerinde etkisi olan önemli bir faktör olduğunu göstermektedir. Sonuçlar, sağlık hizmetlerine erişim ile bebek ölüm oranları arasında negatif bir ilişki olduğunu doğrulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sağlık sistemi, Panel Veri Analizi, Sağlık Ekonomisi, Bebek Ölümleri.

Kaynakça

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