Estimation of health convergence in Central Europe using β co-efficient

Abstract

This study examines the convergence of healthcare expenditure and population health outcomes across eleven European countries from 2000 to 2019. Using the β-convergence framework and coefficient-of-variation analysis, the study investigates three health-expenditure indicators—health expenditure as a share of GDP, public health expenditure per capita, and private health expenditure per capita—and two health outcomes: life expectancy at birth and crude death rate. The full-sample results indicate evidence of convergence across several indicators. However, the regional analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity among Nordic, Baltic, and Central/Eastern European countries. The Nordic countries exhibit significant convergence in health expenditure as a share of GDP, public health expenditure per capita, and life expectancy. The Baltic countries show significant convergence across all three health-expenditure indicators but not in the health outcomes. Central/Eastern European countries exhibit significant convergence in private health expenditure and the two health outcomes, but not in health expenditure as a share of GDP or public health expenditure per capita. These findings demonstrate that convergence in healthcare expenditure does not necessarily translate into convergence in population health and that aggregate estimates may conceal important regional differences. The results suggest that healthcare expenditure alone may not ensure convergence in health outcomes, while institutional and structural mechanisms require further investigation through conditional convergence analysis.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Economic Structures, 2026 · DOI ↗