Abstract:

This study aims to investigate the effects of economic growth, renewable energy consumption, financial development and urbanization on health expenditures in the case of Turkey. For this purpose, the time series techniques are used in the case of Turkey from 1985 through 2018. The ADF, PP and DF-GLS tests are applied for stationarity analysis. The Johansen-Juselius and ARDL bounds test are applied for cointegration analysis. The long-run coefficients are estimated by using the DOLS estimation method. Finally, the VECM Granger causality technique is applied for causality analysis. The findings reveal that: (i) there is cointegration between the variables, (ii) renewable energy consumption and financial development have negative effects on health expenditures, (iii) economic growth has a positive impact on health expenditures, (iv) there are bidirectional causalities between health expenditure, renewable energy consumption, financial development and urbanization in the long term. In conclusion, this study confirms the critical role of renewable energy consumption and financial development in reducing health expenditures. For this reason, policymakers can focus on renewable energy projects, financial development and investments in reducing urban density to improve air quality and provide a healthy environment for the society.

Keywords: