Title: Are health factors important for regional growth and convergence? An empirical analysis for the Portuguese districts

Authors: Ana Poças; Elias Soukiazis

Addresses: Polytechnic Institute of Guarda and UDI, Av. Dr. Francisco Sá Carneiro No. 50, 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal ' Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Av. Dias da Silva, 165, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract: The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of health factors on economic growth and convergence across the Portuguese regions at the district level. Like education, health factors could be important for explaining the growth performance of regions through the increase in labour productivity. Therefore, human capital can be seen in a broader perspective encompassing not only educational qualifications but also health conditions. Although this is not a new idea, empirical evidence at a regional level is not robust supporting this issue, with few exceptions. With this study we try to fill this gap and bring additional evidence of the relevance of health on regional growth considering the Portuguese districts. We employ a panel data approach for the period 1996-2006 taking into account specific regional differences. We also analyse whether there are differences between the littoral (coastal) and the interior (in-land) districts in what concerns health conditions and how they affect their convergence process.

Keywords: regional development; economic growth; human health; human capital; panel data; convergence; Portugal; labour productivity; littoral districts; interior districts; coastal districts; inland districts.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPP.2013.053439

International Journal of Public Policy, 2013 Vol.9 No.1/2, pp.44 - 64

Published online: 31 Jan 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article