The Conditioning Role of Institutions in Environment-Health Outcomes Nexus in Africa

Abstract

This paper examines the conditioning role of institutions in environment-health outcomes nexus in African for a period spanning from 1996 to 2016. The following findings are established using a panel system GMM estimator. First, the unqualified influence of carbon emission on health outcomes is found to be positive and significant statistically. Specifically, it affects human life longevity negatively but positively increases infant deaths and healthcare spending. Second, institutional dysfunctions have an unconditional negative and significant effect on health outcomes. Unambiguously, low regulatory quality and government ineffectiveness weaken life expectancy and amplify the number of infant deaths, while poor corruption control unrestrictedly affects healthcare expenses. Third, the marginal impact of interactions between carbon emission and institutions on life longevity is negative but positive for infant mortality and health expenditure. Lastly, the corresponding net effects of the interaction between environmental pollutants and institutions are equally negative on life expectancy while positive on infant mortality and health expenditure. It means that institutions do not play a supportive role in ameliorating the negative effect of environmental degradation on health outcomes. Thus, strengthening regulatory control, government effectiveness and control of corruption hold the impetus to ensuring environmental balance and improving healthy living and other health-related outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Carbon emission
• institutions
• infant mortality
• human longevity
• healthcare spending

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The logic is simple: a healthy person tends to be more productive and this in turn increases man hour and output that eventually leads to overall economic growth and vice versa.

2 Goals 4, 5, 6 and 7 discuss health and environmental related issues. Goal 4: to reduce child mortality; Goal 5: to improve maternal health; Goal 6: to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and Goal 7: to ensure environmental sustainability.

3 Goal 3 of the extensively focuses on: ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.

4 See Table A1 of appendix.

5 The list of countries in this category are Burundi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo Dem. Rep., Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

6 They are Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritania, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, Swaziland and Zambia.

7 Only six SSA countries have positive average values from 1996-2016. The countries are Mauritius, Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kazeem Bello Ajide

Kazeem Bello Ajide (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer at University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. Kazeem's areas of interest are institutional development, housing economics and development economics. His-work has appeared in high impact journals.

Olorunfemi Yasiru Alimi

Olorunfemi Yasiru Alimi is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. His areas of interest are development economics, environment and health economics and institutional growth. Olorunfemi has published articles in high ranked refereed journals.