Business Cycle and Public Health

The Moderating Role of Health Education and Digital Economy

Dados Bibliográficos

ID22077482
AutoresXing Zhang (0000-0002-0796-4940, Renmin University of China), Yingying Xu (0000-0001-8488-0399, University of Science and Technology Beijing, autor correspondente)
Ano2022
Volume9
Páginas793404-793404
Data de publicação2022-01-11
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
EditoraFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2021.793404
PMID35087786
OpenAlexW4210290591
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas63

The cyclicality of public health in the emerging market is underexplored in existing literature. In this study, we used a fixed effect model and provincial data to document how public health varies with the business cycle in China over the period of 2010–2019. The estimated results showed that the business cycle is negatively correlated with the mortality of infectious disease, a proxy variable of public health, thus indicating that public health exhibits a countercyclical pattern in China. Furthermore, we investigated the potential moderating role of public health education and digital economy development in the relationship between business cycle and public health. Our findings suggested that public health education and digital economy development can mitigate the damage of economic conditions on public health in China. Health education helps the public obtain more professional knowledge about diseases and then induces effective preventions. Compared with traditional economic growth, digital economy development can avoid environmental pollution which affects public health. Also, it ensures that state-of-the-art medical services are available for the public through e-health. In addition, digitalization assures that remote working is practicable and reduces close contact during epidemics such as COVID-19. The conclusions stand when subjected to several endogeneity and robustness checks. Therefore, the paper implies that these improvements in public health education and digitalization can help the government in promoting public health

Business · Business cycle · Economic growth · Economics · Endogeneity · Environmental health · Health care · Health education · International health · Political science · Public health · Employment and Welfare Studies · Global Health Care Issues · Health disparities and outcomes · Medicine · Nursing · Health Policy