Impact of Government Expenditure on Selected Health Indicators: A Study on Bihar and Odisha

Abstract

Purpose of Study: Regional disparities and inequality continue to be a feature of Indian economy even after seven decades of independence. Many of its social indicators need much improvement. Some states are particularly more backward with large proportions of their population being officially poor while some others are comparatively in better position. Such inter-regional disparities have compounded policy challenges of the governments in the poorer states. Against this background, the present study aims to study the dimension of inter-regional disparity for select less advanced states in India. Methodology: A double log model was used in this study to analyze government expenditure's impact on development projects or schemes. Health-wise, less advanced states, viz. Bihar and Odisha are chosen for this purpose. The study uses the actual data on government expenditure in the social sector, mainly on health. The data on a per capita basis is used for each state to analyze the impact of the per capita government's expenditure on select social indicators. The analysis is done separately for both states. Finding: It was foundan inverse relationship between per capita government health expenditure and health indicators i.e., IMR, Birth Rate, Death Rate and TFR in all selected states.