Is health care a necessity or a luxury? Evidence from urban China |
| |
Authors: | Zhi Zeng Ming Ge |
| |
Institution: | 1. Public Health and Management School, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, P.R. China;2. College of Economics and Management, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China |
| |
Abstract: | This article uses a smooth transition regression (STR) model to research the income elasticity of the health care expenditure of China’s urban residents in the 1990–2013 period. The results demonstrate that if the real income of China’s urban residents that lags a period is taken as a transition variable, urban residents’ health expenditure follows an LSTR1 nonlinear two-regime model. Here, the income elasticity of health care expenditure of China’s urban residents is 1.4919 in 1990–2002 and 1.2216 in 2003–2013. Overall, the income elasticity of health care of China’s urban residents is greater than 1, indicating that health care is a luxury. |
| |
Keywords: | Smooth transition regression models nonlinear relationship health care expenditure income elasticity |
|
|